Millions of people will watch as the moon is completely immersed in the shadow of our planet. Skywatchers across the Americas, Europe and Africa will be able to see a total eclipse of the moon if the weather is clear.
Unlike a total eclipse of the sun, which requires a long journey to the path of totality, eclipses of the moon can be observed from your own backyard. The passage of the full moon through the Earth's shadow is visible from all parts of the world. The total lunar eclipse of May 2022, which will be visible across much of North America, all of South America, Central and Western Europe, and much of Africa, will give it a potential viewing audience of over two billion people.
It is easy to view this spectacle. Unlike a solar eclipse, which requires special viewing precautions to prevent eye damage, a lunar eclipse is safe to watch. All you need are your eyes, but you can get a better view with a telescope or binoculars.
There is a total lunar eclipse in May 2022.
The eclipse begins when the moon enters the penumbra, or faint outer portion of Earth's shadow, about an hour before it begins moving into the umbra, Earth's dark inner shadow. Until the moon becomes immersed in the penumbra, it is all but invisible to the eye. The penumbra may be seen as a faint smudge on the left part of the moon's disk at or around 10:00 p.m. If the moon is above the horizon, it will be on May 15.
When the moon enters the umbra, it will be the most noticeable part of the eclipse. There will be a small dark spot on the moon's lower left edge. On May 15 and 16.
The moon is expected to take 3 hours, 27 minutes and 58 seconds to pass through the umbra.
Those in western North America will be able to see the moon enter the umbra, but viewers in the eastern and central U.S. will not.
The table below shows the time of local moonrise and the percentage of the moon already immersed in Earth's umbra at that time.
| Location | Moonrise | Percentage eclipsed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 7:40 p.m. PDT | 21% |
| Elko, Nevada | 7:46 p.m. PDT | 31% |
| San Francisco | 8:06 p.m. PDT | 64% |
| Spokane, Washington | 8:14 p.m. PDT | 77% |
| Medford, Oregon | 8:20 p.m. PDT | 87% |
| Great Falls, Montana | 8:47 p.m. MDT | 32% |
| Boise, Idaho | 8:55 p.m. MDT | 46% |
| Calgary, Alberta | 9:12 p.m. MDT | 74% |
It should make for an interesting scene to see the moon coming up over the east-southeast horizon. It can make for a great photo op if there are local landmarks in the foreground.
How to photograph a lunar eclipse.
The totality phase of the eclipse will last 85.5 minutes for locations where the moon remains above the horizon. On May 15 and 16. Although the moon will be completely immersed in Earth's shadow, it will not disappear from view. The moon will turn a coppery red due to Earth's atmosphere bending or reflecting sunlight into the shadow. Because Earth's umbral shadow is cone-shaped and extends into space for some 864,000 miles (1.39 million kilometers), sunlight will be strained through a sort of double sunset all around the rim of Earth.
The diameter of Earth's umbra is 9,300 km, or 2.5 times the diameter of the moon. The moon will be completely immersed in the umbra.
At the time of mid-totality. The moon will be overhead from Sucre. At mid-totality, the upper half of the moon will be dark, while the southern half will be light. The clarity of the atmosphere at the time of the eclipse will affect how the moon looks.
The moon will appear to rise in total eclipse for places west of a line that runs from Lincoln City, Oregon, to Edmonton, Canada. Because of low altitude and bright evening twilight, observers in these locations may not see much of the moon until the twilight sky is sufficiently hazy or it begins to emerge from Earth's shadow. The main show may be the emergence of the moon from the umbral shadow as it ascends in the southeast sky.
The moon will be setting in a total eclipse. Observers in these locations may not see much of the moon after it slips into Earth's shadow because of low altitude and bright morning twilight.
The moon will pass completely out of the umbra at 1:45 a.m. The last evidence of the penumbra should be gone by 2:12 a.m. The sun rises at 0612 GMT.
The last lunar eclipse visible from the Americas was on May 26, 2021.
There is at least some solace in knowing that another total lunar eclipse will be visible over most of the Americas during the early morning hours of Nov. 8.
If you take a picture of the lunar eclipse and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo and comments to spacephotos@space.com.
The instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium is Joe Rao. He writes about astronomy for a number of publications. Follow us on social media.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
