This phenomenon occurs approximately twice a year, when the Sun, Earth and Moon are perfectly aligned. The eclipse will be visible from parts of the American, European and African continents.
Some Earthlings will be able to witness a total lunar eclipse on the night of Sunday to Monday, a rare celestial sight during which the night star loses its luster and gradually turns red. The eclipse will be visible from parts of the American, European and African continents between moonrise and moonset.
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This phenomenon occurs approximately twice a year, when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in perfect alignment and the Moon is in its full phase. The star slips into the Earth’s shadow, which then shields the sun’s rays and gradually loses its white glow. But it does not turn off: the Earth continues to send light from the Sun to the Moon, through rays that take on a red tint through a process “atmospheric refractionExplains to AFP Florent Delively, of the Paris-PSL Observatory.
Five-hour eclipse
“During an eclipse, the Earth can only illuminate the Moon by re-emitting red rays’ continues the astronomer. “It is very interesting to see a bright white moon that takes the minutes a red and extinguished color‘, he adds. The phenomenon can appear with binoculars as in the naked eyeamazing pictures» If the weather is good. The eclipse will last about five hours, and its total phase – when the star is completely in the Earth’s shadow – is just over an hour.
“Watching from the West Indies or Guyana would be perfect, because the moon would be high in the skyAccording to the observatory. The eclipse will also be fully visible in South America, Central America and eastern parts of North America. In France, the eclipse will be total at the end of the night between 5:29 AM and 6:54 AM, with a maximum of 6:11 AM: the disk will become The lunar is completely red. Note that the moon will set during this total phase, at the same time as the sun rises. So it will be easier to notice this phenomenon if you are in western France, where the sun rises later than the east.
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The moon will be very low in the sky and to take full advantage of the eclipse, you will have to choose a place where the horizon is.”cleared to the westFlorent Delively recommends. The next total lunar eclipse is scheduled for November 2022 in the central Pacific Ocean. In France, the last date goes back to January 2019, and the next day won’t happen until 2029. The lunar eclipse has shown that the Earth is round.Since ancient times‘ confirms the astronomer. “On the surface of the lunar disk, the boundary between the shadow and the part illuminated by the Sun is slightly curved: this is the projection of the Earth’s rotation“.
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