This Friday, 30th September will see a black moon. Never heard of it? No problem, we'll explain all...
What is the black moon?
No, the upcoming black moon isn’t another Twilight book (thank goodness), nor a new Marvel film. In fact, no one is actually sure what it is, because the name isn’t really a scientific one.
What we do know for sure is that this Friday we’ll have a new moon (where the entire face of the moon is dark), and it’s rare to have this happen twice in one month. This hasn’t happened since March 2014, and isn’t predicted to happen again until 2019. So that’s what most people are calling a black moon.
Can you see a black moon?
It won’t be much of a spectacle, however, because the moon won’t be illuminated at all. So although technically we’ll have a black moon, you might not be able to see it. More interestingly, it’s the recent series of lunar events which have caused conspiracy theorists and other strange internet people to claim that this week’s black moon is the final sign of an oncoming apocalypse.
Their evidence is apparently the following biblical verse:
‘But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken’
The darkened sun of the passage, some claim, was the solar eclipse we had in early September, and the upcoming black moon is the second part of the prophecy being fulfilled. It looks like we should be expecting mild temperatures and falling stars in the not too distant future then.
What does a black moon mean?
Black moons are also said to indicatea time when the power of Pagan rituals and spells is enhanced, but in other sources it signifies the time when these things shouldn’t be performed at all. In any case, scientists say it’s nothing to worry about and the earth will continue to exist past this weekend (probably). We’ll add this black moon to our list of underwhelming astronomical occurrences.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.