Mumbai, August 22: A rare celestial event known as a “black moon” will take place tonight, August 22-23. The rare cosmic event will offer skywatchers a unique, albeit invisible, lunar phenomenon. It must be noted that while the moon itself won’t be visible, the dark skies it brings along will provide ideal stargazing conditions.

Though this black moon can’t be seen with the naked eye, its occurrence marks a rare astronomical alignment. Tonight is especially special because the next one won’t happen again until 2028. Blood Moon 2025 Date and Time: This Year’s First Total Lunar Eclipse Set To Grace the Sky, Here’s Significance and Other Details You Should Know.

What Is a Black Moon?

A black moon is not a scientific term, but it refers to one of two rare types of new moons. Tonight’s event is a seasonal black moon, which occurs when there are four new moons in one astronomical season, and this is the third. Seasons usually only have three new moons, making this fourth phase rare. Seasonal black moons appear roughly once every 33 months.

The other type of black moon is monthly, occurring when two new moons fall within the same calendar month, an event that happens approximately every 29 months. Eclipses in 2025: Know Dates of Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan), Solar Eclipse (Surya Grahan) and Other Celestial Events Set To Occur in New Year.

Will Black Moon Be Visible From India and Other Parts of the World?

It should be remembered that the black moon is completely invisible to the naked eye. That means it will not be visible from India or any part of the world. That’s because during the new moon phase, the moon is positioned directly between the Earth and the Sun, with its sunlit side facing away from us.

According to timeanddate.com, the moon will be approximately 1 degree north of the Sun in the sky at 2:07 am ET on August 23, the moment of the new moon. Because it doesn’t reflect sunlight toward Earth, the moon essentially disappears into the dark sky.

The last seasonal black moon occurred on May 19, 2023. The next one is not expected until August 20, 2028, making tonight’s occurrence a relatively rare astronomical treat.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2025 10:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).