#May 2021 lunar eclipse full

If clouds crowd your vision, plenty of places offer up a chance to view the eclipse online. It is safe to view a lunar eclipse with the naked eye, but you can get a more detailed look by using a telescope or binoculars. For folks in the extreme northwest of the country, including a small slice of Oregon and a fair chunk of Washington, the moon will rise in total eclipse. This could make for some interesting astrophotography just after sunset in the southeast horizon. ET, folks on the west side of the country will miss the start, with the moon rising already in a partially eclipsed state for much of the six westernmost states. With the beginning of the real show at 10:28 p.m.

This month’s lunar eclipse can be seen throughout most of North America-not to mention Europe, South America, and much of Africa-but what time zone you live in will dictate just how much you get to see.

#May 2021 lunar eclipse full

ET, thanks to the way Earth refracts the sun’s light through its atmosphere, we will instead see a full darkening of the moon, a “double sunset” of sorts that turns the moon a sort of copper color. As the moon shifts fully into the umbra by 11:28 p.m. ET, the moon will start to slip into the umbra, beginning with-from our vantage point on Earth-the lower left side of the moon, turning it dark at the start of the event. There’s an outer section of this shadow, known as the penumbra, but what we really care about is the umbra. 🪐 For more great space coverage, get unlimited access to Pop Mech Pro- starting NOW.Įarth casts a cone-shaped shadow behind it, blocking anything in that shadow from a direct view of the sun. The first lunar eclipse in about a year will send the moon through Earth’s shadow, fully blocking it from a direct hit from the sun for 85 minutes, the best part of a nearly three-hour, 27-minute ride through Earth’s umbra, the inner shadow. You’ll just need a clear sky-or an internet connection, if the clouds don’t cooperate-on the night of May 15 and into the early morning hours of May 16. You won’t need any funky DIY glasses to catch a glimpse of the coppery red moon during this month’s lunar eclipse. This is the first lunar eclipse since May 2021.When the moon drifts into Earth’s shadow, the moon may appear coppery red.An upcoming lunar eclipse will be visible to the naked eye between May 15-16 and will last for 85 minutes.On the West Coast, the moon will rise when totality is already underway, so the best views will be to the southeast. will see the eclipse begin with the moon well above the horizon, while those in the central part of the country will see it start about an hour and a half after dark. Eclipse visibility map for the May 15-16, 2022 total lunar eclipse.Īccording to NASA, viewers in the Eastern U.S. Totality, when the moon is fully covered by our planet's shadow, follows around midnight, lasting about an hour and a half.

ET on May 15, NASA says, when the moon enters Earth's shadow.

The visible part of the eclipse will begin around 10:30 p.m. Unlike a solar eclipse, which requires special glasses in order to prevent eye damage, a lunar eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye - but binoculars or a telescope would also enhance the viewing experience. It has also been called the corn planting moon and the milk moon. It's also the flower moon, one of the names given to May's full moon due to the abundance of flowers associated with spring in the Northern Hemisphere.