This is what a completely eclipsed moon will look like on Sunday night through Monday morning.
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
A dark, thoughtful and distinctly orange “Blood Moon” awaits us tonight! On the evening of Sunday, May 15, and in the early hours of Monday, May 16, 2022, our natural satellite in space will pass through the shadow of the Earth.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is directly between the Sun and the full moon, preventing direct sunlight from shining on the lunar surface. The only light that penetrates the moon is first filtered by the Earth’s atmosphere.
In fact, all sunrises and sunsets on Earth are projected on the lunar surface at once. In an incredible 1 hour and 24 minutes, the Moon will be enveloped in the same reddish orange light you can see just before sunset here on Earth.
Total lunar eclipses are spectacular events that can be observed with the naked eye – or through binoculars or a telescope – but not all are the same.
The exact hours to see the total lunar eclipse “Blood Moon” on May 15-16, 2022 from any point below … [+] Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
They all look different because they all pass through the shadow of the Earth into space in a slightly different way.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when a full moon passes through the Earth’s shadow of 870,000 miles / 1.4 million kilometers in space. This happens from time to time and can take from 105 minutes (as in 2018) to only five minutes (as in 2015).
On May 15-16, 2022, the aggregate will last 84 minutes as it passes through the southern half of the earth’s shadow. Therefore, the northern end of the moon – which will be closest to the center of the earth’s shadow – is expected to be quite dark at all times.
The appearance of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse in May 2022. Includes annotations of … [+] contact times and various eclipse statistics.
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
It will also be slightly larger than the average moon. This is because technically it is a “supermoon”, one of the next four full moons of the year. However, the 7% increase in the apparent size of the moon will not be noticeable.
From the surface of the Moon, the Earth will completely eclipse the Sun.
Everyone on the moon will see a red ring around the Earth’s atmosphere, everything around it will look red and become very cold.
From Earth it looks great! Don’t miss this – this is the astronomical event of the year.
Disclaimer: I am the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com
I wish you clear skies and open eyes.
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