This year’s only total lunar eclipse will light up the sky this Wednesday, May 26, when the full moon passes into Earth’s shadow. During what is called a Super Moon eclipse, the moon will turn brick red.
The fiery glow is the most spectacular of the three lunar eclipses (the other two are called partial and lunar eclipses). Additionally, a total lunar eclipse only occurs when the sun, earth, and moon are perfectly aligned.
As the moon enters the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, becoming completely engulfed in the darker part of that shadow, the moon is again bathed in pale orange to blood-red light.
Imagine standing on the moon (lots of dust and craters under your feet), staring at Earth in a spectacular night sky event. When the Earth is directly in front of the sun – preventing the sun’s rays from illuminating the moon – you will see a ring of fire surrounding the planet.
According to NASA, the dark part of the earth is lit up at sunrise and sunset around the world. Although our planet is much larger than the sun, the light from our original star still curves around the edges of the Earth. This light is reflected on the moon.
But not before it passes through our atmosphere, which filters out shorter wavelength blue light, leaving reds and oranges unscathed from watering the lunar surface. And it’s a red moon.
The moon will change different hues during the different phases of a total lunar eclipse, changing from its initial gray to orange and amber. Weather conditions can also affect the brightness of colors. For example, an excess of particles in the atmosphere, such as ash from a large forest fire or a recent volcanic eruption, can cause the moon to appear a darker red.
The Moon is not always completely hidden behind the Earth’s shadow. During a partial lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon are slightly out of alignment, so our planet’s shadow only partially engulfs the Moon.
A sky novice might not even notice the third type of lunar eclipse, the horizontal type, in which the moon is in the depression of the Earth, or its outer shadow.
According to timeanddate.com, Wednesday’s total lunar eclipse is expected to be more visible over Australia, parts of the western United States, western South America and Southeast Asia. Other parts of the world, including the whole of the United States, will be able to see at least some phases of the lunar eclipse, including its partial and partial phases.
The next three lunar eclipses will take place on May 5 and 6, 2023, on March 24 and 25, 2024, and on February 20 and 21, 2027. According to timeanddate.com, the next total lunar eclipse, the projected ants are visible from parts of the Asia. , Australia, much of North America, South America, the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and Antarctica, which will take place May 15-16. , year 2022.
