There will be a full moon on Monday, May 16.
The Moon is brought into Earth's shadow when it moves around the Earth. If you were standing on the Moon, you would see the Earth slowly moving in front of the Sun, blocking it completely.
People in western Africa and Europe will be able to see the eclipse at night, while people in North and South America will be able to view it all night. You can see the NASA video below.
There are some interesting facts about this eclipse. The moon passes very close to the center of Earth's shadow on the sky, so totality lasts a long time, about 85 minutes. When the Moon is close to the Earth it will appear a little bigger than usual. The Moon is only a little bigger than usual and you won't notice, but some people call it a super moon.
If you want to get up to speed on the basics, you should watch the entire episode of Crash Course Astronomy.
The penumbral andumbral phases are part of the eclipse. The shadow and pen are related. Theumbral phase is when the moon is in the deepest part of the Earth's shadow. The sun is partially blocked by the Earth as seen from the moon. You probably won't notice that this part of Earth's shadow isn't as dark. When the Moon gets deep into the penumbra, it becomes obvious.
On one side of the Moon, the Earth blocks the Sun, and on the other side, it becomes dark. There is a disk of darkness that moves across the Moon as it moves around the Earth. We say the eclipse is complete when the Moon is completely covered in shadow. The process of the Moon moving out of Earth's shadow is reversed once it starts.
There is an animation on the Time and Date website that shows the moon moving through the Earth's shadow and a table of when each part of the eclipse will occur. I have written about eclipses in the past, including the one in 2019: a beach ball-sized asteroid impacting the Moon during the eclipse. You don't know what you'll see.
It is not like a solar eclipse where you need special gear to block sunlight and avoid boiling your eyeballs, it is just like a lunar eclipse. You just need to look up if you can. If you have windows that face the right way, you don't need to go outside. It is nice to see the stars when the Moon is dim and the stars are not being washed away by a typical full Moon.
It is enjoyable to see the Moon close up, but it is not necessary to have a telescope.
The penumbral phase begins at 9:32 p.m. on May 16. The time is Sunday night in the U.S. You probably won't notice, but that lasts under an hour. At 10:00 pm. The start of the partial phase is called the umbral phase and it begins when the moon is in theumbral. It takes just over an hour for the Moon to pass into the Earth's shadow. There is an hour and a half time.
If you take at least a peak half an hour before the umbral phase starts, you will be able to see it begin to diminish. It is quite cool.
It takes about 85 minutes for totality to last. The moon may not be visible in the sky during that time. It's not obvious when it's so dark. The Earth's atmosphere will be lit up and sunsets will be red because the Sun is blocked by the Earth. The moon looks red because of that. Some people call it the blood moon. It's dramatic and poetic.
The totality ends at 0:54 pm. You should be out a few minutes early to see it get brighter again. Most people will be able to see the eclipse when the last part of the umbral shadow leaves the moon. The eclipse ends when the penumbral shadow leaves the sky.
Who is capable of seeing it? Click here to watch a video of NASA showing a map of Earth with visibility and timing.
People in western Africa and Europe will be able to view the eclipse after midnight. All of South America and the eastern regions of North America get the whole show, and the farther west you are, the more you miss out.
The next lunar eclipse will take place in November of 2022.
There are lunar eclipses that are very cool. It takes about five hours from the beginning of partial through to the end of partial. It is what I do.
I don't know how many lunar eclipses I've seen. They are all different and enjoyable. It is good for everyone. The kids get to stay up late and the parents get to enjoy it. You can enjoy yourself by watching the Earth's shadow eat the Moon.
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