|
|
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT CARDY, GETTY IMAGES
|
|
By Jay Bennett
On Sunday night and stretching into early Monday, a blood red moon will cross the night sky. This moon will be blocked from the sun by Earth and cast into shadow.
During an 85-minute total lunar eclipse, from 11:29 p.m. to 12:54 a.m. EDT, the blood moon—also a supermoon, or near its closest point to Earth—will be bathed in the red glow of light filtered through Earth’s atmosphere. Sky watchers in South America, most of North America, and parts of Europe and Africa will be able to see at least a part of it, Andrew Fazekas writes for Nat Geo.
With each lunar eclipse, I think about what it would look like to stand on the moon, gazing back at Earth as it moved in front of the sun. Our planet would be encircled by a glowing red halo, the same phenomenon that paints the sunset red, but seen from afar. No one has ever watched a total lunar eclipse from the moon, but NASA’s Apollo 12 astronauts came close, on their way home when Earth eclipsed the sun from their perspective. For now, we will have to settle for enjoying this weekend’s views from our home planet.
Read the full story here.
|
|
|
|
