What is a 'black moon', and how often does one happen?
Find out what this lunar event really means, and why it's actually impossible to see a black moon rising.
Humans have long had a fascination with lunar events—and with the rise of the internet, all kinds of moon moments have become media sensations. Consider supermoons, harvest moons, and the rare "super blood moon" total eclipse.
Lunar fans may therefore be tempted to add another celestial sight to the list: a “black moon,” popularly defined as the second new moon in a month. However, this event may not exactly make for good sky-watching.
New moons occur when the moon’s orbit takes it between Earth and the sun, leaving the lunar orb’s unilluminated side facing Earth. At night, this phase of the moon is impossible to see: Since new moons are in the same part of the sky as the sun,
