Black moon on Friday sparks end-of-the-world fears

Besides the giant asteroid 2009ES heading toward Earth with the force of 3 billion nuclear bombs, there would be a black moon on Friday, reasons to spark anew end-of-the-world fears. The black moon is the second new moon of a single calendar month.

It is an unusual celestial event because the black moon only happens once every 32 months, explains Joe Rao of Space.com. It is the flip side of a blue moon which is a second full moon in a single calendar month. The last time there was a black moon was in March 2014, according to AccuWeather.

But a new moon is invisible since its sunlit side faces away from Earth, with the side seen from the planet is entirely in shadow. Instead, people would have a night sky without any glare from the moon, says USA Today.

The new moon would officially begin at 8:11 pm EDT on Sept 30 in the Western Hemisphere. However, for residents of the Eastern Hemisphere, specifically Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe, it would not be until midnight of Oct 1 that the new moon would occur, so technically, it is not a black moon in the hemisphere, according to weather.com.

It means the second new moon would happen on Oct 30 in the Eastern Hemisphere, but for those in eastern Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the black moon is on Oct 31 which coincides with Halloween. Express points out that conspiracy theorists use this lunar event to evoke end-of-the-world warnings by citing biblical verses.

Among the verses often cited in Matthew 24:29 which states, ““Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Another is Luke 21:25-26 which reads, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and looking after those things which are coming on the earth.”

But scientists and the church assure there is nothing to fear and no Apocalypse would take place. The Earth will just carry on normally during and after the black moon.

VIDEO: Is Friday’s Black Moon a sign of the Apocalypse?