A rare sighting of the Lunar Object's "dark side" is coming to face the Earth in the form of a New Moon that appears once every 32 months!
Gear up as the famous lunar object turns into the "Black Moon" this Wednesday, August 19, at 10:41 pm, Pacific Standard Time. Express reports that the "Black Moon" will not be visible to the naked eye, as opposed to new moons.
The "Black Moon" will vanish and hide in the dark space, showing the planet only its dark side as the moon's sunlit side faces away. New Moons are expected to turn up once every 29.5 days or at the end of every lunar cycle. However, the near end of the cycle will show a covered up lunar object instead of the New Moon's usual dimly lit appearance.
This particular "Black Moon" will go in the middle of the Sun and the Earth, thus creating a silhouette that will prevent the moon's glare from being seen by humans.
Forbes report that this is not an anomaly or an astronomical problem, instead, a "glitch" in the calendar.
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Black Moon's Origins
(Photo : NASA Solar System Exploration)
Moon Phases
Moon Phases
According to Forbes' report, the soon-to-show "Black Moon" is like any other regular New Moon as it appears somehow unseen by the naked eye. However, this particular moon will be completely invisible and considered to be unique because of what's called a "calendar quirk" or glitch in the system.
In regular lunar cycles and situations, a New Moon appears thrice in each quarter of the year. However, in this year's astronomical season, each half of the Earth divided by the equator, both with different seasons, will have four new moons. The Northern Hemisphere will see the "Black Moon" in the Summer of 2020, while the Southern Hemisphere would see it during the Winter season of 2020.
New moons for both hemispheres are scheduled for June 21, 2020; July 20, 2020; August 19, 2020; and September 17, 2020. The "Black Moon" is the third moon of the calendar quirks' four new moons.
The Sun will shine on the lunar object's far side (popularly referred to as the "dark side of the moon"), and its near side (visible side) will grow dim, thus making itself invisible.
Inverse states that June 2020's summer season marked the beginning of summer solstice, and a new moon coincidentally showed up on the 21st. This marked the surfacing of the "Black Moon" that brings four new moons this astronomical season.
Black Moon: a sight for every stargazer's fantasies
(Photo : Unsplash)
Despite the moon not illuminating as it is expected to in the night, several people and animals who rely on the moonlight will be disappointed. However, the Black Moon caters to every stargazer who will have an opportunity to view the skies more clearly than ever.
Darker skies during the night mean that more and more heavenly bodies will be visible and be clearer to both personal and scientific instruments such as telescopes. Self-proclaimed stargazers and scientists will be given a chance to better view the vast astronomical bodies as there will be no presence of the lunar object's illumination.
As the Black Moon takes away the lunar light, it gives it a chance to explore the space's celestial bodies, stars, complex constellations, and those that cannot be viewed immensely with the moon's interruption.
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Written by Isaiah Alonzo
