Check if you have clear skies tonight because we are in for a super-rare treat! The Full Moon will be passing through Earth's shadow, resulting in a partial lunar eclipse unlike anything seen in hundreds of years.
On the night of Thursday, November 18 to Friday, November 19, the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon will be aligning just right to produce a lunar eclipse. Unlike the Super Blood Flower Moon from earlier this year, the Moon will not turn completely red during this event. Instead, we will see a partial lunar eclipse, where the Moon only mostly dips into the dark red 'umbra' of Earth's shadow.
Don't let that deter you from getting out to see this, though, because it's going to be pretty special!
Partial lunar eclipse - 20211119 EST - NASA SVS / Scott Sutherland
This graphic shows the path of the Moon through Earth's shadow on the night of Thursday, November 18 through Friday, November 19. The times referenced in the graphic are in Eastern Standard Time. Credit: NASA SVS/Scott Sutherland
As the eclipse occurs, starting at just after 1 a.m. EST on Friday morning (2:30 a.m. NST/10 p.m. PST, Thursday night), the Moon's path will plunge it nearly all the way into the deepest, darkest part of Earth's shadow — the umbra. At the moment of greatest eclipse, about 3 hours after the event begins, only a tiny sliver of the Moon's south polar region will remain in the faint penumbra.
So, this will be about as close to a total lunar eclipse as you can get, without it actually being a total lunar eclipse!
WILL WE SEE IT?
Whether you have access to the darkest rural skies or you're under the light pollution dome of a sprawling urban centre, everyone has a chance of viewing this lunar eclipse.
The key factor for who actually gets to see it, though, is how clear or cloudy the sky is during the event.
Here is the latest cloud forecast across Canada for Thursday night.
Nov19-lunar-eclipse-NATCloud-Thurs-Forecast
Southern Ontario, southern Quebec, central Saskatchewan, and central Alberta appear to be the best places across Canada for viewing. Check back here for updates, and check your local forecast as well, to see if these conditions have changed before the event.
If you find that you're stuck under cloud skies, don't worry. Read on for details on how you can watch from anywhere, regardless of sky conditions!
WHEN DO WE WATCH?
The timing of this "almost total" lunar eclipse makes it visible to everyone across the country (weather permitting).
Because the eclipse happens simultaneously for everyone, though, we need to take time zones into consideration during the event. Thus, the challenging part will be that the farther east you are, the later you need to stay awake or the earlier you need to get up to see it.
Almost total lunar eclipse 20211119 map - NASA
The visibility of the November 18-19 lunar eclipse includes all of Canada. Only parts of eastern Canada will miss the end of the penumbral eclipse as the Sun rises in the morning. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Listed below are the eclipse times for each time zone across Canada, starting with the entire duration of the eclipse, then that of the partial eclipse, and the time of greatest eclipse.
NST — 2:32 a.m.-8:33 a.m.; Partial 3:48 a.m.-7:17 a.m.; Greatest 5:33 a.m.
AST — 2:02 a.m.-8:03 a.m.; Partial 3:18 a.m.-6:47 a.m.; Greatest 5:03 a.m.
EST — 1:02 a.m.-7:03 a.m.; Partial 2:18 a.m.-5:47 am; Greatest 4:03 a.m.
CST — 2:02 a.m.-6:03 a.m.; Partial 1:18 a.m.-4:47 a.m.; Greatest 3:03 a.m.
MST — 11:02 p.m.-5:03 a.m.; Partial 12:18 a.m.-3:47 am; Greatest 2:03 a.m.
PST — 10:02 p.m.-4:03 a.m.; Partial 11:18 p.m.-2:47 a.m.; Greatest 1:03 a.m.
The entire eclipse lasts for 6 hours and 1 minute, from beginning to end. For the first hour and 15 minutes or so, it may be difficult to notice the effects as the Moon enters the faint penumbra. After that, though, the partial phase of the eclipse begins. This is the good part, when the dark umbra begins to creep across the face of the Moon!
You may not notice the reddish tinge for the first while, as your eyes struggle with the contrast between the dark lunar surface in the umbra and the brighter part that's still in the penumbra. The colour will become more apparent as time passes, though, and closer to the point of greatest eclipse, we may be treated to a fantastic sight.
A SPLASH OF COLOUR
During a total lunar eclipse, when only a tiny portion of the Moon is peaking out of the umbra, close observers often notice bands of colour spread out across the Moon's face. This becomes even more noticeable through a telescope, a pair of binoculars, or through a camera using a telephoto lens.
This array of colours is known as the Japanese Lantern Effect.
1280px-Japanese Lantern Precedes Total Eclipse With a Splash of Color (13886488313) Larry Johnson New Braunfels USA CC-by-2pt0. This photograph, taken from New Braunfels, Texas, during the April 15, 2014 total lunar eclipse, shows the Moon just before it was completely immersed in the umbra. Credit: Larry Johnson/Wikimedia Commons (CC by 2.0)
The term was apparently coined in the 1950s by astrophotographer Peter A. Leavens. It describes the stages of a total lunar eclipse that starts roughly five minutes before totality and again for approximately five minutes after totality ends.
The outer part of Earth's shadow (the penumbra) is usually portrayed as gray, and the inner part (the umbra) is shown as red. However, a much more subtle array of colours go into both. This is due to light filtering through the different layers of Earth's atmosphere. These subtle colours become more noticeable as more of the umbra darkens the Moon's surface.
While this effect is seen for only a short time during a total lunar eclipse, we may see it for close to an hour during Thursday's partial lunar eclipse!
LONGEST PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE IN CENTURIES
At 3 hours, 28 minutes and 24 seconds long, Thursday night's partial lunar eclipse will be the longest seen this century.
For comparison, this century's shortest total lunar eclipse is on April 4, 2015, spent precisely 3 hours and 29 minutes passing through the umbra. The Moon was so close to the umbra's edge during that event that some observers who were closely watching with telescopes actually questioned if it genuinely qualified as a total lunar eclipse!
Nov 19 Partial Lunar Eclipse - Simulated.This simulated view of the Moon shows what the November 18-19 Partial Lunar Eclipse should look like at greatest eclipse. Credit: NASA SVS/Scott Sutherland
Thursday night's eclipse isn't just the longest partial lunar eclipse of this century, though. In fact, it's the longest eclipse seen in over five centuries past, and more than six centuries going forward!
According to NASA's records, the last "longest partial lunar eclipse" — at 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 48 seconds long — took place over 581 years ago, on February 18, 1440! For the next one, which will be an even 3 hours and 30 minutes long, there's an even longer wait! It occurs nearly 648 years from now, on February 8, 2669!
So, this is one not to be missed!
WATCH FROM ANYWHERE!
Stuck under clouds Thursday night? Fear not!
The famous Lowell Observatory is hosting a livestream from their location in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The livestream starts at 2:15 a.m. EST (12:15 p.m. MST), and it will cover the best parts of the event.
The Griffith Observatory will also be streaming the eclipse, live, from Los Angeles, California (although their weather forecast calls for cloudy skies). Another stream will be broadcast by timeanddate.com, presenting views from different parts of the world.
Additionally, in case staying up that late or getting up that early just isn't an option for you, these streams will remain available after the event, too. So, anyone who couldn't watch live won't have to completely miss out on seeing this extremely rare eclipse.
No comments :
Post a Comment