The full Moon will be slightly less full on Tuesday night , thanks to the Earth ’s shadow , as our major planet will pass between our satellite and the Sun , moderate to a partial lunar eclipse .
It ’s the second lunar occultation of 2024 , though the late one was harder to see . In March , masses in the Americas were able to regard a penumbral lunar eclipse , in which the Moon travels through the faint KO’d bound of the Earth ’s shadow . Tuesday ’s eclipse , though still only a partial one , will be much easier to see .
The eclipse will start at 8:41 p.m. ET , accord toNASA , though it wo n’t really be seeable until 10:13 p.m. , when the top edge of the Moon begins recruit the Earth ’s shadow . The top of the occultation will begin at 10:44 p.m. , but only the top 8 % of the Moon will be amply shadowed . That will last until 11:16 p.m. , and the occultation will be entirely done at 12:47 a.m. on Wednesday morning time . observer will likely spot a shining objective near the Moon during the eclipse ; that ’s Saturn .
Photo of a partial lunar eclipse taken in 2014.© Brad Riza/NASA
The fond lunar occultation will be visible to observers across the Americas , parts of Antarctica , the Middle East , Africa , Europe , the Atlantic Ocean , the westerly Indian Ocean , and eastern Polynesia , accordingto Earthsky .
Though only partial , looker should get a enough view of the eclipse , as it will take spot during a supermoon . That ’s when the Moon ’s orbit approaches its perigee — the point where it ’s unaired to Earth — making it appear larger and shining than normal . It ’s also the full Moon stuffy to the autumnal equinox , an upshot popularly know as the Harvest Moon . The eclipse will be visible from the Americas , Europe , and Africa .
A lunar eclipse takes place when the Sun , Earth , and Moon align so that Earth is directly between our sensation and our satellite . This alliance have Earth to cast its shadow upon the Moon .
Visibility of the September 17-18 lunar eclipse. Image: NASA
That ’s different from what happens during thephasesof the Moon , in which the Moon proceed from full to a small sliver and back again . While it might seem that the varying visibleness is due to shadows cast off upon the Moon , it ’s actually because , as the Moon orbits Earth , the portion of its sunlit side seeable to us changes .
Lunar eclipses are n’t exactly rare , usually fall out anywhere between one to three time per year . Unlike solar eclipses , they are also totally dependable to look at without protective eyewear , because they do n’t require looking straightaway at the Sun . or else , observers are staring at sunlight that ’s reflected off the Moon ’s surface , which is therefore far less shiny . Though visible to the naked eye , the National Weather Servicerecommendsusing a distich of binoculars or a telescope to get the sound aspect .
If you ’re an eclipse snob who wo n’t get off the couch for anything less than the total package , you wo n’t have foresightful to await . A entire lunar occultation will take home on March 14 , 2025 , and will be visible in the Americas , the Pacific , western Europe , and western Africa . The most recent full lunar eclipse was in November , 2022 .
AstronomyEclipseslunar eclipse
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