Watch for a slight darkening on the Moon's leading edge. You probably won’t notice anything until the Moon is about halfway across the penumbra. (1) The Moon's leading edge enters the pale outer fringe of Earth's shadow: the penumbra. The eclipse occurs in five stages, each with different things to watch. The events that happen during a total lunar eclipse are more complex and interesting than many people realize. Then events unfold in reverse order, until the Moon returns to full brilliance. The Moon gradually glides into Earth's shadow, until most of the lunar disk turns from silvery grey to an eerie dim orange or red. Mechanics of a Lunar EclipseĪ lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and a full Moon form a near-perfect lineup in space, in what is known as syzygy. time zones as well as Alaska (Alaska Standard Time / AKST) and Hawai‘i (Hawai‘i-Aleutian Standard Time / HST). Eclipse phase times are shown for the contiguous U.S. See the table below and diagrams at the end for times of key events for the lunar eclipse: Eclipse Event The stages of the eclipse occur simultaneously for everyone who can see the Moon, but the actual clock times depend on your time zone. “The Moon will be in Taurus and pleasingly placed some 6° - approximately the width of three fingers held together at arm’s length - lower left of the pretty Pleiades open star cluster at the time of maximum eclipse,” says Diana Hannikainen (pronounced HUHN-ih-KY-nen), observing editor at Sky & Telescope. “This should provide great opportunities for some fun photos.” This means that the Moon’s orbital motion will be slower, thereby increasing the duration of the event. It happens 1.7 days before the Moon reaches its apogee, or the farthest point from Earth, in its orbit. In fact, not only will it be the longest partial lunar eclipse this century, it’s also the longest partial lunar eclipse between February 18, 1440, and February 8, 2669. The partial eclipse is predicted to last longer than usual, nearly 3½ hours. Much of western Europe should see the early penumbral stages before the Moon dips below the horizon. In South America the eclipse happens as dawn is brightening, while for most of Australia the Moon will already be eclipsed as it rises. Northeasternmost Asia will also see the entire event. For Hawai’i and Alaska, the event starts to unfold before midnight. time zones, and mid-eclipse occurs in the wee hours of the morning (at 4:03 a.m. November’s eclipse favors night owls and early risers, because the full Moon passes through the umbra after midnight on November 19th for the four main U.S. Weather permitting, viewers across almost all of North America will witness the entirety of the event. But it’s a very deep one: About 99% of the lunar disk’s area (97% of its diameter) will pass through the umbra - the dark inner part of Earth’s shadow - leaving a tiny, silvery sliver of the Moon’s southern edge peeking out. However, unlike the total lunar eclipse on May 26th this year, the November 18–19 event is a partial eclipse. Very late Thursday night and early Friday morning, you have a chance to watch the Moon darken and turn a reddish hue as it slips into Earth’s shadow. Note to Editors/Producers: This release is accompanied by high-quality graphics see the end of this release for the images and links to download. Susanna Kohler, Communications Manager and Press Officer, American Astronomical Society Gary Seronik, Consulting Editor, Sky & Telescope Diana Hannikainen, Observing Editor, Sky & Telescope
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