Technologies

Have You Ever Seen a Black Moon? Neither Have We, but One Is Coming This Weekend

You’ve no doubt heard of supermoons, blue moons, mini moons and blood moons, but have you ever heard of a black moon?

Late last year, we were treated to four consecutive supermoons, where the moon is the biggest and brightest that it can possibly be in the night sky. Have you ever wondered what it’s called when the opposite happens? There is a name for it, and it’s happening this weekend — the emergence of the black moon.

The term black moon isn’t an official term, but rather a nickname for when a new moon fulfills certain conditions. Typically, each season has three new moons just like it has three full moons. However, when the stars align — pun intended — there is an extra cycle squeezed in. When this happens to full moons, it’s referred to as a «seasonal blue moon,» and this happens to a new moon, it’s called a black moon.

The weekend of Aug. 22 is such an occurrence. The first new moon of the summer came relatively early, on June 25, followed by the next one on July 24. The final new moon of the season comes on Sept. 21, which is the day before summer officially ends. Since there’s an extra new moon, the third new moon in the set of four is referred to as the black moon, which means August’s moon gets the distinction.

Two types of black moons

According to Dr. Shannon Schmoll, manager of Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium, a black moon is essentially the same as a blue moon, but for new moons instead of full moons. Thus, the same rules apply to both.

«A black moon tends to have two common definitions,» Schmoll tells CNET. «The less cumbersome one is the second full moon in a month. Because thelunar cycle is a bit shorter than most months, every once in a while, there will be a full moon at the very beginning and very end of amonth.»

Since the solar cycle is 29.5 days, as Schmoll notes, this can happen, and it does soabout once every 29 months.

The next occurrence of that type of blackmoon is slated for August 2027, when new moons will appear on Aug. 2 and Aug. 31. The last time this happened was in the spring of 2023.

«The other definition is the third full moon in a season with four,» says Schmoll. «So, a season here is the time between an equinox and a solstice. Becausethat is three months, we typically get three moons in that time. Every once in a while, we get four, and the third one is the ‘extra’ one. «

This occurs once every 33 months and is the rarer of the two types of black moons, making August’s new moon a little extra special. The next time this type of black moon is slated to happen is in summer 2028, when June and September’s new moons will take place during the summer once again, like they did this year.

For reference, blue moons are also fairly rare. The next blue moon is coming in May 2026 on the 1st and 31st of the month.

In the grand scheme, though, Schmoll says that these instances are quirks of our calendar system and «there isn’t anything astronomically significant about it» aside from it being a fun little coincidence.

You can’t see it, and that’s OK

We see the moon because it reflects light from the sun. During a new moon, our closest celestial neighbor is hidden behind the Earth, so sunlight can’t reach it. That means you won’t be able to see this rare celestial phenomenon even if you try, so for once, we recommend not bothering to look for it.

Per Schmoll, the only way to see a new moon is if there’s a solar eclipse when it slips in front of the sun.

However, there are other ways to enjoy a new moon: the moon is often cited as one of the most common and unavoidable sources of light pollution, making it harder to find things in the night sky. The Perseids meteor shower had its peak during August’s full moon, which made the more dimly lit meteors more difficult to see, even if you left the city and suburbs to get a darker sky.

With this year’s black moon, stargazers will get one additional night this summer of serene, moonless darkness in the night sky. This will give enthusiasts another great chance to spot six planets in the sky for the last six-planet parade we’ll see for a few years, and for photographers in the northern hemisphere to get some outstanding shots of the Milky Way galaxy. Since Perseids ends on Aug. 23, there’s also a chance you may see one of the final shooting stars from that meteor shower.

So, if you’ve been waiting for the darkest possible night to see some stars, this weekend is a great opportunity thanks to this year’s black moon.

Technologies

Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper

This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.

Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.

Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.

This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage.

This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.

Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.

Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.