![]() ![]() Unlike a solar eclipse, which requires special equipment to observe safely, you can watch a lunar eclipse with unaided eyes. It’s the same reason we see the normally yellow sun turn red during sunsets. The ruddy coloration of the fully eclipsed lunar disk occurs because sunlight hitting the moon gets filtered through Earth’s atmosphere, scattering the blue light and letting the red pass through. Lunar eclipses happen only during a full moon, and about 29 percent are total lunar eclipses, when the entire moon passes through the dark central cone of Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra. Learn what causes a lunar eclipse and how it gains its crimson coloring. Unlike a solar eclipse, which may require travel to see, total lunar eclipses can often be observed from the entire nighttime-half of the Earth. Today, this celestial phenomenon generates excitement and wonder. Nicknamed "blood moon," some ancient cultures regarded a total lunar eclipse as an ominous event. But roughly three times a year, the moon passes through at least part of Earth’s shadow. This doesn't happen every time the moon makes its monthly trek around our planet because the moon's orbit is tilted. Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and moon line up properly for the moon to pass into Earth’s shadow. In some parts of the Pacific Northwest, the already-eclipsed moon will rise just before the sun sets, brightening as it climbs into the night sky. The entire phase of totality will be visible in all of South America and across most of North America, as well as in parts of Africa and Europe. The total phase of the eclipse, when the moon is at its deepest red, will begin on May 15 at 11:29 p.m. The important thing, though, is that Earth’s shadow will bathe the moon in a deep red-one of the most eye-catching sights of the night sky-for nearly an hour and a half. ![]() Sources: NASA Space.Please be respectful of copyright. When combined with the phenomena of a total lunar eclipse, it is widely referred to as a "Beaver blood moon" in the United States. Tuesday's event will coincide with the "Beaver moon," a moniker for November's full moon adopted by the Old Farmer's Almanac supposedly from Algonquian languages once spoken by Native Americans in the New England territory. PST until just before 6 a.m., with the total eclipse phase lasting about 90 minutes, peaking at 3 a.m. On the West Coast of the United States, the whole display will run from 12:01 a.m. The entire eclipse will unfold over a period of nearly six hours as the moon gradually edges into the Earth's paler, outer shadow, its "penumbra," then enters the Earth's darker, inner shadow, or "umbra," before reaching totality and eventually emerging from the other side. It will be visible to the naked eye wherever skies are clear in those regions. Skywatchers in Asia and Australia will see it with their evening moonrise, while the spectacle will play out for observers in North America in the early morning hours before the moon sets. Tuesday's eclipse will be visible across eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific and North America. The next one is not expected until March 14, 2025. Tuesday's event will mark the second blood moon this year, following one in mid-May. Total lunar eclipses occur, on average, about once every year and a half, according to NASA. The degree of redness depends on atmospheric conditions that vary with levels of air pollution, dust storms, wildfire smoke and even volcanic ash. The reddish appearance of the lunar surface - the moon does not entirely disappear from view - is caused by rays of sunlight around the outer edge of the eclipse shadow, or umbra, being filtered and refracted as it passes through Earth's atmosphere, bathing the moon indirectly in a dim copper glow. Otherwise, the moon passes above or below Earth's shadow because its orbit around Earth is usually tilted relative to Earth's orbit about the sun. This is only possible when the orbits of the Earth, moon and sun align so that the moon is directly behind Earth relative to the sun. WHAT'S HAPPENINGĪ total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow completely over a full moon, blocking reflection of all direct sunlight from the lunar orb and dimming the color of the moon to a reddish hue, hence the term "blood moon." Here are some key facts about the upcoming celestial display, unfolding in an exceedingly unusual concurrence with Election Day in the United States, and about lunar eclipses in general. Nov 7 (Reuters) - Nighttime skywatchers from East Asia to North America will be treated to the rare spectacle of a "Beaver blood moon" on Tuesday, weather permitting, as the Earth, moon and sun align to produce a total lunar eclipse for the last time until 2025. ![]()
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