A space sensation will occur this weekend but down on Earth, no one will be able to view it.
A “black moon” is set to rise Saturday, which Hunter Miller, an astronomy educator at the Adler Planetarium, said is most akin to its opposite — a “blue moon.”
“This is just something that kind of happens by chance every couple of years,” Miller said. “It’s a great time to get outside and observe the night sky, because the moon is very bright compared to a lot of other things. And just like light pollution that we have here on the ground, the moon can provide some light pollution in the sky as well.”
A black moon can refer to one of two phenomenons — the second of two new moons that occur in the same month, or the third of four new moons that occur in one season. Saturday’s black moon refers to the latter of the two.
A new moon occurs when the moon is between the Earth and the sun, but the side facing the planet is dark, causing the moon to be invisible to the onlooker. The opposite happens when there’s a full moon, when the side of the moon facing stargazers is lit up by the sun.
The last black moon happened in May 2023. This phenomenon only occurs once every two to three years, Miller said.
While those on Earth won’t be able to see the orb itself, Miller said it’s a great time for sightseers who have binoculars or telescopes to get outside and observe faint, distant objects in the sky.
“And since it’s summertime,” Miller said, “It’s a great time of year to get outside and view the Milky Way.”
He said observers will have to get away from the city’s light pollution in order to get a good view of the cloudy trail of light.
Although it’s best to head a few hours out of the city to a dark sky preserve, which is an area that restricts or reduces light pollution to maintain naturally dark night skies, Miller said even just heading a little bit out of the city can improve the stargazing experience.
“The further you get from the city, the better your view will be,” he said.