The last total lunar eclipse for three years will occur this week, making the Moon appear a deep red.
An eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Earth lies directly between the Sun and the Moon, meaning the Moon lies in the shadow of the Earth.
Lunar eclipses are more frequent than their solar counterparts, and perhaps slightly less spectacular, but are still exciting events for stargazers.
Here’s everything you need to know about the coming eclipse.
When is the lunar eclipse?
The lunar eclipse will occur in the early hours of Tuesday 8 November in the regions it is visible.
It will be visible across North and Central America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, as well in Ecuador, Colombia, western portions of Venezuela and Peru.
The eclipse starts at 3.02am EST, which is 8.02am in the UK.
Here’s how the timings break down, according to Nasa:
- 8.02am GMT –Penumbral eclipse begins– The Moon enters the Earth’s penumbra, the outer part of the shadow. The Moon begins to dim, but the effect is quite subtle
- 9.09am GMT –Partial eclipse begins– The Moon begins to enter Earth’s umbra and the partial eclipse begins. To the naked eye, as the Moon moves into the umbra, it looks like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk. The part of the Moon inside the umbra will appear very dark
- 10.17am GMT –Totality begins– The entire Moon is now in the Earth’s umbra. The Moon will turn a coppery-red. Try binoculars or a telescope for a better view. If you want to take a photo, use a camera on a tripod with exposures of at least several seconds
- 11.42am GMT –Totality ends– As the Moon exits Earth’s umbra, the red colour fades. It will look as if a bite is being taken out of the opposite side of the lunar disk as before
How can I see it from the UK?
Unfortunately, the total lunar eclipse will not be visible from the UK.
However, many organisations will show live streams of the eclipse on social media and YouTube.
If you search “lunar eclipse live” on YouTube on the day of the event, you should be able to find plenty of streams.
More from Science
What is a total lunar eclipse?
Royal Museums Greenwich explains: “For a total lunar eclipse to happen, all three bodies – the Sun, the Earth and the Moon – lie in a straight line. This means that the Moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow – the umbra.
“But a lunar eclipse isn’t always ‘total’. There are actually three different types of lunar eclipse.”
They are as follows:
Total lunar eclipse
During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon usually turns a deep, dark red because it is illuminated by light that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and has been bent back towards the Moon by refraction.
Partial lunar eclipse
During the partial phase of the eclipse, part of the Moon travels through the Earth’s full ‘umbral’ shadow.
However, on this occasion, only a very small section of the Moon will be covered by the umbra at maximum eclipse, though the whole northern half of the Moon will be darkened by the penumbral shadow.
Penumbral lunar eclipse
“A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon travels only through the outer, fainter part of the Earth’s shadow, or ‘penumbra’. This happens when the Earth moves between the Sun and Moon but the three do not form a perfectly straight line.
