2024 will be ending with a rare space event that you've never seen
It's not going to happen again for another year
We’re so close to the end of 2024, and to celebrate, we’re set to see something that’ll you’re likely to never see.
Space is a funny thing, and its mystery is what keeps scientists up at night, but we’re about to see a rare astronomical event which could show us something more than what we’re used to seeing.
On 30 to 31 December, right before we ring in the New Year, look up to the sky and behold, the Black Moon.
Now, if you don’t know what this is, you’re not alone.
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Considering we’ve never set eyes upon it, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
But it’s pretty weird so keep reading.
Basically, a Black Moon (not to be confused with a Blue Moon) is based on the new moons.
As a new moon is one of the moon’s eight phases, a black moon is when there are two new moons in one calendar month.
So, this will be the second new moon in December, and it’s called the Black Moon.
Well, that depends on which definition you go by as there’s actually two.
A Black Moon can either been defined as the second new moon in a single calendar month, or the third new moon in a season of four new moons.
As the first definition is the one that’s more widely used, we’ll stick with that for now.
But be warned, it’s not actually black in colour and you’re not likely to get a good look at it either.
While it’s set to happen at 4.26pm CST (10.26pm UTC) on December 30 in the US, it’s coming a day later for us in Europe.
Black Moons are rare, but they’re not impossible as the last one to hit the skies happened on 19 May, 2023.
If you look up to the sky on that date, you’re likely to see nothing but the stars, and that’s due to the side that is illuminated by the Sun is facing away from Earth.
But, it might make the stars stand out more in the sky, so you can still grab your telescope and peek at the giant orbs of gas.
But don’t miss it as the next time it’s going to happen is in May 2026.
In other news, we once got another moon.
If you weren’t aware, a mini moon began orbiting planet Earth in September, which gave our big moon a new bestie to travel with.
The new moon was spotted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, a group of people who caught sight of an asteroid named 2024 PT5 on 7 August.
From 29 September, the asteroid - which was only 10 metres wide - completed a partial orbit of Earth before heading back off into space two months later.
Britt Jones