This Tuesday the world will witness a new total lunar eclipse or ‘blood moon’. The last seen was in May.
On November 8, 2022, a total lunar eclipse will occur that will be visible, leaving the red moon in Asia, Australia and America.
The previous total lunar eclipse occurred in May . According to Alphonse Sterling, an astrophysicist at NASA ‘s Marshall Space Flight Center , total lunar eclipses occur about once every year and a half on average. The next total lunar eclipse won’t happen until 2025.
From where and at what time will the total lunar eclipse be visible?
The beginning of the penumbral eclipse will take place at 03:02 (Peru) over America and the Pacific. The partial eclipse will be visible from 04:09 and the total eclipse will begin at 05:16, being visible in North America, the Pacific, Australia and Asia, and will end at 06:41. It will also be seen in Ecuador, Colombia, and the western parts of Venezuela and Peru.
The shadow eclipse will end at 07:48 a.m. and the penumbral one at 08:54 a.m. It will have been visible in its last phases in western North America, the Pacific, Australia and Asia, reports the National Astronomical Observatory (OAN).
What is a total lunar eclipse?
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts a complete shadow, called the umbra, on the Moon . Earth’s shadow is classified into two parts: the umbra, the innermost part of the shadow where direct sunlight is completely blocked, and the penumbra, the outermost part of the shadow where light is partially blocked.
During a total lunar eclipse , the Moon and the Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. Many people wonder why lunar eclipses don’t happen every month since the Moon completes one orbit around Earth every 27 days, NASA explains .
The reason is that the Moon ‘s orbit around Earth is tilted relative to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, so the Moon often passes above or below Earth’s shadow. Lunar eclipses are only possible when the orbits are aligned so that the Moon is directly behind the Earth relative to the Sun. (Europa Press).