By Joe Saunders November 30, 2024 at 10:12am
A quirk of the calendar will be giving stargazers a treat Saturday night — but only in certain areas of the country.
Thanks to a disconnect between the calendar and the lunar cycle, states in the West, Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii will get two new moons in November.
To paraphrase Creedence Clearwater Revival: “There’s a black moon on the rise.”
A “black moon” is the term used when there are two new moons in a given calendar month — because the new moon can’t be seen by humans unaided.
The situation occurs about every 29 months, according to the website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Basically, it’s a symptom of the disconnect between the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world and the actual reality of the moon’s timeless cycle.
The calendar does not account for half days, but the moon’s cycle is 29.5 days, which means the calendar is not entirely in sync with the moon — the lunar body that most dominates human imagination.
“New moons occur when the moon is positioned between Earth and the Sun. During this phase, the moon’s illuminated side faces away from Earth, making it invisible to the naked eye,” the NASA website explains, matter-of-factly.
Then the site waxes eloquent:
Are you in the area affected by this?
“It’s a poetic reminder of the cosmic dance between celestial bodies, even when it’s unseen.”
And while the black moon itself is invisible, its occurrence provides stargazers with the opportunity to view the night sky without the moon’s presence to take the spotlight from other heavenly bodies.
“With no moonlight to brighten the sky, stargazers can enjoy some of the darkest skies of the month, perfect for observing stars, planets, and deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae,” Newsweek science reporter Tom Howarth wrote.
In essence, the black moon is the opposite of a blue moon, when, as NASA notes, two full moons take place in a calendar month (and for the same 29.5-day reason).
“Many compare it to the Blue Moon, though their visibility and characteristics differ,” the NASA website states.
“Unlike the Blue Moon, which graces us with an additional full moon to admire, the Black Moon’s beauty lies in its mystery—a celestial event we know is happening but cannot see.”
So, who in the U.S. will have the “black moon” experience?
According to Newsweek, the breakdown of states by time zone is as follows:
Mountain Standard Time: Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming.
Pacific Standard Time: California, Idaho, Oregon, parts of Nevada, Washington.
Alaska Standard Time: Alaska.
Hawaiian Standard Time: Hawaii.
But whether Americans can see the black moon or not, its presence is evidence, as the NASA website puts it, of the “intricate dance of our solar system.”
“As we look to the skies on November 30, let’s appreciate not only the science behind this event but also the beauty of celestial mechanics in motion,” the website urges.
“Whether visible or not, the Black Moon is a testament to the intricate dance of our solar system—an unseen spectacle with profound implications.”
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
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