"Black Moon" to occur on Friday, September 30th: Second 'new moon' in a month's time

A somewhat unusual lunar event is set to take place on Friday, September 30th in the Western Hemisphere -- a second new moon in a single month, which some call a "Black Moon."

According to Space.com, while a full moon involves the moon's Earth-facing side becoming fully illuminated by sunlight -- a new moon involves the moment when the moon's Earth-facing side is fully in shadow.

The so-called "Black Moon" will be more or less invisible due to the new moon shadow. At its "new moon" phase, the moon is always black.

According to Space.com, there is typically one full moon and one new moon each month.

A second full moon in a month's time is called a "Blue Moon."

A second new moon in a month's time is called a "Black Moon."

Officially, this "Black Moon" will occur at 7:11 p.m. central time, according to Space.com.

Interestingly, for the Eastern Hemisphere (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia), this new moon occurs after midnight on October 1st -- so for this part of the world, this particular new moon is not the second one in the calendar month, but rather, the first!

That means it does not qualify as a Black Moon!

According to Space.com, those on the Eastern Hemisphere will have to wait until the end of the month for theirs.

The Black Moon is a somewhat unusual celestial event — they occur about once every 32 months, according to Space.com.

CLICK HERE for more on Friday night's "Black Moon" via Space.com.