Cue the spooky music, ’cause we’re about to get a load of an absolutely spectacular, extremely eerie astronomical event!

This weekend we can expect to see a super rare view of the moon. Though it’s not an official scientific term, folks at the Smithsonian are calling this a “black moon,” and it’s the only one that we’re going to see in 2022.

What does it mean? So glad you asked!

The black moon is essentially when there are two new moons in a single month. (In case you need a little refresher, a new moon is when you can barely see the moon in the sky, it’s on the opposite end of the lunar spectrum from a full moon). In this particular case, the black moon will cause the first partial solar eclipse of the calendar year.

The event will begin roughly 90 minutes before the sun goes down on April 30th, 2022. This eclipse will, unfortunately, not be visible from everywhere and will not be as dramatic from all the places where it is visible. However, there will be a livestream set-up for those of us who are not fortunate enough to live in the handful of “optimum viewing” areas. (This link also takes you to a list of a bunch of different astronomical phenomenons so you don’t miss out on any of this incredible stuff!)

Where can you see it from?

Mostly Antarctica and South America. Specifically, the place that will have the most stunning view, which will include a partial solar eclipse of about 54%, is Chile.

Remember that if you are in one of these extremely lucky places and you will be able to see the partial solar eclipse, please please please be smart about your viewing! It is never, ever a good idea to stare directly at the sun, even if it’s only 46% of the sun!

Besides just looking really freaking cool, the other interesting thing about a black moon is that some of the other features of the night sky will be more visible, since they will be uninterrupted by the light of the moon. So even if you won’t get a chance to see the partial solar eclipse, you might still get a good shot at seeing other planets – like Jupiter and Venus. Time to break out the telescopes and get away from the city for a night. I don’t know about you, but I am super freaking excited about this!

 

Do you regularly keep up with astronomical events? Do you have any plans to view this cool event this weekend? What will you do? Let us know!