What To Know About Saturday’s 'Black Moon' | Weather.com
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Chris DeWeese
ByChris DeWeese2 days ago

Jaw-Dropping Entries In Milky Way Photo Contest

Creedence Clearwater Revival famously sang about seeing a “bad moon rising.” Well, this weekend, there will be something else happening up in the firmament: A rare “black moon” rising. Unlike CCR, you won’t be able to see it, and yet it will make for an amazing night of stargazing. Here’s why.

What Is A 'Black Moon'?

While it’s not a technical astronomical term, “black moon” can be thought of as the inverse of “blue moon.” While blue moons have to do with full moons, black moons have to do with new moons, which occur every 29.5 days when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, becoming invisible from our Earth-bound point of view.

a new moon

(by-studio/ Getty Images)

But what makes black moons different, and what makes the one we (won’t) see on Saturday particularly rare? It all comes down to the two ways black moons can happen.

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The slightly more common way a black moon can occur is when two new moons occur in one month: This happens if there’s a new moon on the first day or two of the month, and occurs about once every 29 months. The second, and rarer, type of black moon (and the one we’ll experience on Saturday) occurs when there’s a season of four new moons, and is used to describe the third new moon of that season. These black moons only pop up about once every 33 months, so we’ll have to wait until 2028 for the next one.

So What’s The Big Deal?

Unlike a blood moon, which actually brings a visual spectacle with it, you can’t see the black moon. However, the timing of Saturday’s black moon (2:06 a.m. EDT, if you want to get technical) actually does offer eager stargazers a rare opportunity: A completely moonless night by which to observe the Milky Way, which is currently right in the middle of its peak viewing season in the Northern Hemisphere.

milky way

The Milky Way is clearly visible in the starry sky on Aug. 14, 2025, above the Baiku Co lake and snow-capped mountains in Xigaze City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

(Ma Lichao/Xinhua via Getty Images)

To give yourself the best chance of seeing the Milky Way this Saturday morning, you’ll want to find a place with as little light pollution as possible, and you’ll also want to give your eyes at least 20 minutes to acclimate to the dark. Look to the south for a sort of gray haze made up of bright and dark patches of dust.

Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s newsletter.