July 2019 Black Moon… What You Can See (And What You Can’t)

Blue Moon; Strawberry Moon; Worm Moon.  It seems like every few weeks, the Moon has a new name associated with it.  Most of these names are historical. For instance, the Strawberry Moon was a termed used by Native Americans and early American settlers that indicated June was the time when wild strawberries were beginning to ripen.

Maybe you have recently heard of the Black Moon that will occur on July 31, 2019 and will be visible to most of the Western Hemisphere.  While there is not an official definition of a Black Moon, what is being referenced here is the second New Moon occurring in the same month.  (This is similar to a Blue Moon, which is the second of two Full Moons in a month.) This type of Black Moon occurs about every 29 months.

When the Moon enters the New Moon phase, it crosses between the Sun and Earth.  This means that none of the Sun’s light is reflected off the side of the Moon that we see.  So, while a Black Moon might sound ominous, it really is just another social media hype and one that is at the Moon’s most unimpressive phase.