PremiumA total lunar eclipse will occur tomorrow, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has informed earlier. The full moon will be the year's biggest "supermoon" and feature the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years.
During the eclipse, the full moon will pass through the Earth's shadow. It appears red, known as a "blood moon", as light is scattered through the Earth's atmosphere, much like during a sunset.
In addition, the moon will be at perigee, or the closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it appear about 7% larger than normal and 15% brighter or a "super moon," according to astronomers. May's full moon is known as the "Flower Moon" since it occurs when spring flowers are in bloom.
The result when taken together is a "Super Flower Blood Moon."
The total eclipse will last about 15 minutes as Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun. But the entire show will last five hours, as Earth's shadow gradually covers the moon, then starts to ebb. The reddish-orange color is the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected onto the surface of the eclipsed moon.
The eclipse will happen in the early morning hours on Wednesday in western North America, with people in Alaska and Hawaii getting the best views. It can also be seen in southern Chile and Argentina. Skygazers in all of Australia and New Zealand and parts of Southeast Asia can see the eclipse on Wednesday evening.
Red blood moon set to wow star gazers
For stargazers in parts of the world where the event is not visible or obscured by clouds, some observatories will webcast the eclipse.
The Griffith Observatory https://griffithobservatory.org/event/lunar-eclipse-online-broadcast-may-26-2021 in Los Angeles will stream live views beginning at 1:45 a.m. PT (0845 GMT). The Lowell Observatory https://lowell.edu/event/streaming-lunar-eclipse-live in Flagstaff, Arizona, will start its broadcast at 2:30 a.m. PT (0930 GMT). The Astronomical Society of South Australia http://assa.org.au/tle will also broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube starting at 7 p.m. ACST (0930 GMT).
The peak viewing time for the eclipse will be between 4:11 am and 4:26 am PT on the US West Coast or 9:11 pm to 9:26 pm AEST in Australia (1111 GMT to 1126 GMT), according to the observatories.
The next lunar eclipse will be visible from India on November 19, 2021. It will be a partial lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse occurs on a full moon day when the Earth comes in between the Sun and the Moon and when all the three objects are aligned. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the whole Moon comes under the umbral shadow of the Earth and the partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a part of the Moon comes under the umbral shadow of the Earth.
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