This weekend is set to end in a spectacular way, as there is a total lunar eclipse scheduled to take place on Sunday night, lasting until the early hours of Monday morning. During this time, stargazers from all around the world will have the opportunity to observe an eclipse of the first blood moon of the year. The lunar event will be fully visible for people in North and South America, and only partially visible for the inhabitants of Europe, Africa, Antarctica and the east Pacific, depending on the weather conditions.
A total lunar eclipse usually takes place when Earth is positioned directly between the sun and the moon, its shadow being reflected on the latter. The peak will take place very close to midnight, for the US East Coast, and for those wanting a close view of the event form various angles, NASA will be livestreaming and commenting with their experts on each phase of the eclipse. According to the NASA website, space enthusiasts can also submit any questions they may have about the event during the livestream, under the #askNASA hashtag.
This lunar eclipse has been dubbed the “Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse” and this choice of name is not random. For those of you who don’t know, “flower moon” is the name given to the full moon of May, which is the month of spring when flowers bloom all across the US, while the “blood moon” refers to the reddish color the moon will have, which is given by the sunlight that is filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere.
According to TimeandDate.com, The Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse will begin on May 15th, at 10:28 p.m. EDT and will end on May 16th, at 1:55 a.m. EDT. The next similar event is meant to take place during the month of November 2022, with the next one after that being scheduled to happen a long time away, in 2025. So, fuel up on coffee, prepare your best camera lens and point your gaze towards the sky to enjoy this rare and beautiful event!
Photo credit: Photo by Yu Kato on Unsplash
