Although the stars will become easier to see with just your eyes, binoculars will provide a different (and probably more pronounced) perspective.īoth Mars and Jupiter will blaze nicely on either side of the Moon as the eclipse begins. Note how the Pleiades’ visibility changes as more and more of the lunar surface plunges into darkness. Take a look at it every five minutes or so, starting when the partial eclipse begins. The sky’s brightest star cluster lies 15° northeast of the Moon. Observing the Pleiades (M45) throughout the first half of the eclipse will provide a nice diversion for observers. The nearest 1st-magnitude star to the Moon is magnitude 0.9 Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), which lies 25° due east. Look for magnitude 2.0 Hamal (Alpha Arietis) a bit more than 12° northwest (to the upper right) of the Moon. This eclipse takes place in fall, so the traditional fall constellations lie opposite the Sun, surrounding the Full Moon. What celestial objects will be near the lunar eclipse? Many amateur astronomers hope for an eclipse that rates a low Danjon number because of how dramatically different the sky looks at totality from when the event begins. During these, the Moon’s surface appears orange or copper and the shadow’s edge might look blue. Finally, the brightest eclipses are when L = 4. Also, you might notice that Earth’s shadow has a brighter edge, which may even look yellow. L = 3 occurs when the Moon is a lighter shade of red. When L = 2, details are visible and our satellite takes on a deep red or rust color. If L = 1, you’ll see the Moon, which will appear gray or brown, but details on its surface will be hard to identify. For an eclipse where L = 0, the Moon nearly disappears at mid-totality. Just be sure to make you estimate near the middle of totality.ĭanjon used the letter L for luminosity, the Moon’s brightness. You can use your naked eyes, binoculars, or a telescope. How you make this observation doesn’t matter. They do this using a scale developed in 1921 by French astronomer André-Louis Danjon. Since lunar eclipses last on the order of hours, many observers use some of the time during totality to estimate how dark the event is. And because the air around us scatters blue light the most (which is the reason a clear daytime sky is blue), the light that falls on the Moon is redder than normal sunlight. This happens because our atmosphere bends a bit of sunlight into the shadow and onto the Moon’s surface. One of the coolest effects during a total lunar eclipse is that the Moon doesn’t just darken - it also changes color. Storms and large amounts of clouds along the limb of our planet (from the Moon’s point of view) can make the lunar surface appear even darker. All these components reduce the air’s transparency. The air around us contains water droplets, dust, pollen, and ash. Our atmosphere also plays a big part in how the Moon appears. ![]() Because the Moon crosses a large range of the shadow’s depth throughout totality, the appearance of its face will change significantly as the eclipse progresses. You’ll easily see that the Moon’s southern half looks darker than its northern half. 8 doesn’t reach the longest possible duration, because only the Moon’s southern edge touches the center of our planet’s umbra. So, when totality arrives, be sure to look for the difference in brightness between the northern and southern edges. The more central the path, the darker the Moon’s surface will get, especially around mid-eclipse. Sometimes it passes close to the center and sometimes it crosses the outskirts. The Moon looks different from one totality to the next because it takes different paths through Earth’s shadow. Rate the darkness of the Moon during totality views will come in eastern Maine, and even there, observers will witness more than an hour of totality. In the continental U.S., everyone with a clear sky will experience at least part of totality, and those who position themselves as far west as possible will have the best views. Northwestern parts of South America will see some totality, but the finest views come in Asia, Australia, and North America. The entire eclipse will be visible to much of the world, excluding Africa and much of Europe.
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