Seasonal black moon Aug 23, 2025 brings dark skies for stargazing

A seasonal black moon will rise this weekend, marking a calendar-driven rarity in the summer sky. The new moon on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at about 2:06 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time will be the third of four new moons in the season, making it a seasonal black moon by popular but non-scientific nomenclature. Because a new moon is when the Moon sits between the Earth and the Sun, its illuminated side faces away from us, rendering it invisible to observers on the ground. The alignment, however, creates conditions that are favorable for stargazing and offers a reminder of longer celestial cycles that echo into midcentury.

technically, a black moon is not an official astronomical term. It describes a particular occurrence within the lunar cycle: the third new moon in a season that contains four new moons or, less commonly, the second new moon in a calendar month. This summer season will feature four new moons—the first on June 25, the second on July 24, the third on August 23, and the fourth on September 21. The phenomenon happens on a rhythm that roughly matches a 33-month cadence, a calendar quirk that becomes notable mainly to skywatchers and those tracking the Moon’s phases as...