A Rare Black Moon Will Make for Great Stargazing on Friday

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shutterstock.com

Although it's only been a couple of weeks since a stunning harvest moon lit up the night sky, it turns out there's another relatively rare lunar phenomenon about to take place this Friday, September 30th: a black moon. The last time it happened was back in March of 2014.

As explained in a report by Accuweather, a black moon is the second new moon to occur within a calendar month, sort of like how a blue moon is the second full moon to occur within a calendar month. But unlike other rare lunar events, you won't be able to see the black moon because like every time there's a new moon, the side of the moon illuminated by the sun will be facing away from Earth. So not only will the black moon be invisible, it'll also make the night sky much darker and potentially perfect for stargazing thanks to the lack of glare. 

Because of the time differences around the world, the occurrence of the black moon will be exclusive to the Western Hemisphere. However, the report notes that the Eastern Hemisphere will get the black moon treatment around Halloween, which as you can imagine, could be pretty creepy. As always, don't forget to take a moment to look up. 

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Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and feels like he doesn't look up at the sky enough. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.