From Thursday evening to Friday morning, the shadow of the Earth will browse the moon, transforming the sphere usually pearly into a surprising red sphere.
It is the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years. Also known as Moon Blood, the event will be more visible in Americas, Western parts of Africa and Europe, New Zealand and a little Russia.
“It is an adorable show to see in the night sky,” said Amanda Bosh, executive director of the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, who has seen more than 20 lunar eclipses in his life.
“I love to see the solar system, the universe, at work,” he added.
When will this eclipse occur?
There are several stages of a total lunar eclipse. According to the United States Naval Observatory, the event will take place for about six hours beyond Thursday and Friday.
The moon will begin to insinuate itself into the terrestrial penumbra around 23:56 Ora Eastern on Thursday. At 1:09 on Friday, the moon will enter the Umbra, during which an increasing part of its surface will be obscured by the sight. According to Dr. Bosh, the moon will appear more red as the partial phase passes.
The totality, when the whole moon is swallowed in the darkest part of the shadow of the earth, occurs at 2:25 and lasts for just over an hour.
So the lunar surface will begin to illuminate the white while the moon slips out of the shade, a phase that lasts until 4:48 now oriental. The last stage of his journey, through the Penumbra, ends at 6:01
Will time influence my vision?
Although a winter storm is making a barrel in the United States, meteorologists say that the spectators of the sky have the blow to see the eclipse in different areas, including portions of Florida, central and southern plains, of the west and southern Texas and of the Ohio Valley in the mountains of the southern Appalachi.
Most of the West will be draped in clouds and humidity, but the skies could open up a slice of the desert to the south -Best between south -est of California, southern Nevada and West Arizona.
Clear views are likely to be more difficult to find in the northern plains and in the northern half of the eastern coast.
“It is not until you go down perhaps in the Carolina in which you will start seeing more breaks in the clouds, but it seems mostly cloudy at a cloudy night straight for most of the Mid-Atlantic and the North-East,” said Scott Kleebouer, a meteorologist from the National Service meteorological center.
If you see clouds in the sky during the eclipse, keep in mind that the event takes place for several hours. It could be worth watching again later, especially if those clouds are thin or seem to move.
What is a total lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, the earth and the moon align, in that order. There are different types of lunar eclipses that depend on how deeply the moon crosses the terrestrial shadow, which is divided into an external part, the penumbra and the shadow, the most internal section.
A total lunar eclipse, when the entire moon slips against the shadow, is by far the most dramatic variety. The shadow of the earth surrounds the face of the moon, causing brilliance. This happens because the sunlight that pours on the edges of the earth and illuminates the lunar surface must first travel through our atmosphere, which more easily spreads the blue wavelengths of light. The redest wavelengths pass through, creating the-long effect.
According to Dr. Bosh, the exact shade of red during a lunar eclipse can vary. Clouds and recent natural catastrophes – such as storms of dust or volcanic eruptions, which leave particles in the air – can make the moon appear more crimson.
Less visually surprising is a penumbral eclipse, when the moon touches through the external part of the shadow of the earth. This means that the Moon mitigates slightly that it can be difficult to notice.
When only a part of the moon moves away in the innermost shade, it creates a partial eclipse, which seems that a bite has been removed from the lunar surface.
How can I see the eclipse?
Anyone on the night side of the earth will have the opportunity to see the lunar eclipse, but how much you can see it depends on your position.
Skywatchers in most North America and in the western half of South America can attend the entire event. But in other places, people can simply capture the eclipsed moon that stands or puts itself in the sky.
No special equipment is needed for this cosmic view. “It will seem equally beautiful with your eyes” than not through a telescope, said Dylan Short, a telescope specialist at the Lowell Observatory. Decent photographs can be taken with a mobile phone, he said, or with a simple DSLR camera that uses a goal with a long focal length. The images of the Moon can also be captured through the eye of a telescope.
In many cities, groups of stars and local planetary planetaries host guard parties. Another option is to view a live broadcast of The Lunar Eclipse online.
What will the eclipse from the moon be like?
If you were on the lunar surface, you would experience a solar eclipse while the earth starts in alignment between the sun and the moon. The blue planet would appear dark, surrounded by a ring of sunlight.
While at this moment there are no people on the moon, a space vehicle will try to assist and record on Wednesday’s eclipse by a lunar advantage. The space vehicle, Blue Ghost of Firefly Aerospace, a company based in Texas, remained on the moon at the beginning of this month. The Solar Energy Robotic Lander will have to rely on the batteries during the Hours of the darkness of Eclipse.
Blue Ghost is not the first to capture an eclipse from the vicinity of the moon. The previous lunar missions to capture the effect included the NASA survening 3 Lander in 1967 and Japan in Kaguya spatial orbit in 2009.
When will the next eclipse occur?
Lunar eclipses can happen several times a year, although not all reach all. According to NASA, the next total lunar eclipse will occur in September, more visible in Asia and parts of Europe, Africa and Australia.
There will be another total lunar eclipse next March, followed by a partial lunar eclipse later in August.
Lunar eclipse also occur with solar eclipses. On March 29, the partner of this lunar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse, will be visible in some parts of North America and Europe.
Amy Graff Contributed relationships.