‘Black Moon' to Rise Friday; Isn't Sign of World Ending

The last new moon was on Sept. 1 and the "black moon" will rise on Friday at 8:11 p.m. ET

Sky-watchers have seen a harvest moon, the rare super blood moon total eclipse and now a new lunar event is on the horizon. 

On Sept. 30, the “black moon” will rise in the sky, but catching a glimpse of it might prove impossible. It's invisible.  

Though the term "black moon" isn't recognized by NASA, according to Joe Rao of Space.com, it's an astronomical phenomenon where, every couple of years, the moon is completely blanketed in darkness twice in one month.

The last new moon was on Sept. 1 and the "black moon" will rise on Friday at 8:11 p.m. ET. All new moons can't be seen with the naked eye because the side of the moon that’s lit by the sun is facing away from Earth. It will take a few days for slivers of silver to peek out again. 

“It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s not particularly rare," Ian O’Neill, an astrophysicist and the senior producer for space at Discovery News and Seeker.com told The Los Angeles Times. 

It also doesn't spell the end of the world, experts say. It's just how the moon works. 

Conspiracy theorists claim the episode will "bring with it worldwide destruction and the second coming of Jesus Christ," the Express paper in England reported. 

The most recent "black moon" was in March 2014 and about 32 months before that. 

According to National Geographic, the black moon does not predict our demise, but instead, a fresh start. 

"If anything, this black moon is a harbinger of new beginnings and festivities: On the evening of October 2, the barely visible waxing crescent moon will shine on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year," the magazine explained. "And on October 3, the growing crescent will mark the beginning of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar."

O'Neill pegged all the hubbub to online frenzy.

“When you have anything that's the least bit foreboding in the night sky, the media jumps on it,” he said. “Social media has a huge part to play. These things go viral.” 

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