Author: Ian Stewart / Source: NPR.org
A special celestial event is on the calendar for this Sunday night and experts are already raving:
“A full 62 luxurious minutes of totality,” says Sky and Telescope Magazine.
“The Only Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019,” promises NASA.
“This full moon will appear to be one of the largest of 2019,” reports Space.com.
North and South America will get the best view of the super “blood moon”, as it’s known, but Europeans and Africans will also be able to watch (weather permitting).
So, let’s break down the hype, starting with the eclipse.
Unlike a solar eclipse, when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, a total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth aligns to block the sun’s light from the moon. That can only happen when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. About once a month, a full moon is visible when it nears that far point and shines brightly as Earth covers up most of the sun. But approximately once a year, as the moon travels along its tilted axis, it ends up directly behind Earth and is thrust into near darkness.
- At 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, the moon will start to creep into the part of Earth’s shadow known as the penumbra. Not much darkening will be visible yet, according to NASA.
- By 10:33 p.m. ET, you should see Earth’s shadow start to move across the surface of the moon, growing larger and larger and larger until it…
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