Black moon takes place tonight

Stephen Price

While most of us will have heard of a Blue Moon, tonight we can expect a Black Moon – a term that has emerged in recent years used to describe when we have two new moons in a month.

A Blue Moon is most commonly defined as the second of two full moons in one calendar month.

The second new moon of the month, however, is termed Black Moon, and we can expect our next of these tonight (30-31 December, 2024) just as 2024 draws to a close

Stargaze

A Black Moon – like any new moon – isn’t visible in Earth’s sky. The moon is new when it’s more or less between the Earth and sun for that monthly orbit.

Black Moons hold special significance to people who practice certain forms of Pagan religions and who believe certain actions become more potent when performed on the night of a Black Moon.

In recent years, the term has been made popular by social media, astrologers, and pagans or Wiccans.

New-moon-time is a great time to stargaze, because without the moon in the sky, the night is darker, and you can see more stars.

This is especially true if you venture out to a dark-sky site such as Bannau Brycheinog.

Meteor shower

Whilst the name Blue Moon can be misleading since the Moon doesn’t actually appear blue in colour, the name Black Moon is slightly more accurate, because you can’t see the moon in the night sky.

Late December 2024 and January 2025 are also a great time to see planets and stars.

On December 30-31, we’re also days away from the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower, on January 2-3, 2025.

This meteor shower will be best viewed by those in the Northern Hemisphere since the radiant point is near the Big Dipper asterism.