Black Moon Rising...there’s a song opportunity in there somewhere!
Hey, how many types of Moon are you aware of? Just the one I suppose, like most people, but there’s a different kind of Moon heading our way this weekend that you’ve probably not noticed before.
It’s called a ‘Black Moon’ and it’s kinda spooky, in a nice way that is.
We’re all familiar with Blue Moons, Super Moons and Silvery Moons. I’ll bet you’ve even heard of the Harvest Moon that farmers tend their crops by. And of course there’s the ‘Blood Moon, when the Moon changes to a coppery red during a lunar eclipse.
Now, let’s introduce you to a ‘Black Moon,’ more commonly known as the New Moon and it was in our skies last Tuesday night. A New Moon is actually the darkest moon phase and it holds a lot of meaning in religious and astrological calendars.
A New Moon occurs when the Moon lies closest to the Sun in the sky as seen from the Earth. With no moonlight to wash the sky out it’s the best time to go planet spotting.
The good news is you can see part of the Black Moon on Friday night held by a thin crescent Moon as it sets in the western sky. The Moon will be in its crescent phase where the dark or ‘black’ part is illuminated slightly by Earthshine, reflected sunlit from the Earth’s seas and oceans bouncing off the Moon. Thus, the bright crescent part of the Moon wraps around and “holds in its arms’ the dark disc of the Moon.
“Ancient people had a term for this and its part of the ageless folk-lore that surrounds our closest companion in the sky,” said Dave Reneke from Australasian Science Magazine. “They called it, ‘the old Moon in the new Moon’s arms.’ By the way, it’ll still be there Saturday night as a bigger crescent but don’t wait too long OK?”
And it’s always fun to try to spot the extremely thin crescent Moon. Begin sweeping the Western sky with binoculars just after sunset. You’ll be surprised how difficult it is to see the razor thin Moon against a low contrast sky but when you do the sight is magnificent.
“This is the time to spot craters on the Moon’s bright limb,” Dave said. “If you’re a fisho watch for higher than average ocean tides , and watch your catch increase.”
