On December 31, residents of Russia will be able to observe a unique astronomical phenomenon – the “black” Moon, or the second new moon, when the Earth’s satellite disappears from view, since its disk is completely in the shadow of the planet. This phenomenon was explained in the press service of Novosibirsk State University (NSU), citing data from the astrophysics complex. As the head of the NSU complex Alfia Nesterenko explains, this month the Moon will go through an unusual phase; There will be a rarely observed second new moon on December 31st.
During this period, the new moon cannot be seen with the naked eye because the moon does not reflect light. However, Nesterenko explained that in the event of a meteorite flash that could hit the Moon, a bright spot would appear. This phenomenon occurs quite frequently, about once an hour, but to record it you need to have a telescope and a camera that will continuously record video of the Moon at a time when the Moon is hidden from direct light.
In addition to new moons, other interesting astronomical events can be observed in the first days of the new year. For example, on January 4, the Moon will completely cover Saturn, which will be visible in Central Russia, and on January 5, residents of Siberia will be able to watch the Moon obscuring Neptune. At this time, the Moon will be in the third phase and the phenomenon of “covering” the planet will be noticeable to the naked eye, but you will have to wait patiently for the planet to disappear behind the Moon and reappear.
Source: Ferra
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