An ‘almost’ total lunar eclipse will be visible across the skies early Friday morning, but weather will play a big role locally when it comes to seeing it.
NASA says this will be the longest partial lunar eclipse in a millennium at 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds.
There hasn’t been a longer partial lunar eclipse since February 18, 1440 according to NASA.
The lunar eclipse will be at its “peak” at 4:03 a.m.
What is an “almost total” lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra.
In this eclipse, up to 99.1% of the Moon’s disk will be within Earth’s umbra, says NASA.
Here’s the full timeline, courtesy of NASA:
1:02 a.m. Penumbral eclipse begins The Moon enters the Earth’s penumbra, the outer part of the shadow. The Moon begins to dim, but the effect is quite subtle.
2:19 a.m. Partial eclipse begins The Moon begins to enter Earth’s umbra and the partial eclipse begins. To the naked eye, as the Moon moves into the umbra, it looks like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk. The part of the Moon inside the umbra will appear very dark.
3:45 a.m. Red color becomes visible More than 95% of the Moon’s disk is in the umbra and the Moon will appear red. The color might be easier to see in binoculars or a telescope. Using a camera on a tripod with exposures of several seconds will bring out the color, at the expense of overexposing the lit part of the Moon.
4:03 a.m. Eclipse peak The peak of the eclipse occurs. This is the best time to see the red color.
4:20 a.m. Red color no longer visible The redness fades as less than 95% of the Moon is in the Earth’s umbra. It appears that a bite is taken out of the opposite side of the Moon from earlier.
5:47 a.m. Partial eclipse ends The whole Moon is in Earth’s penumbra, but again, the dimming is subtle.
7:04 a.m. Penumbral eclipse ends The eclipse is over.
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