The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years is set to give people living between Australia and the central US a celestial treat. DW breaks down where and when to look up.
Wednesday's moon will appear bathed in a reddish glow from reflected light from the EarthImage: Marc Schmerbeck/Zoonar/picture alliance
Advertisement
A lunar spectacle awaits stargazers along the Pacific Rim on Wednesday when the moon will undergo a total eclipse while at its closest position to Earth.
If skies are clear, viewers will be able to see a moon that appears much larger than normal, bathed in an orangey-red glow.
The event is being called a "Super Blood Moon," with some poetically minded astronomers waxing even more lyrical by terming it a "Super Flower Blood Moon," the full moon in May being known as a "Flower Moon" in reference to spring flowers.
When and where can the 'Super Blood Moon' be viewed?
The height of the eclipse will happen between 11:11 and 11:25 UTC, which is late evening Wednesday in Sydney and just before dawn in Los Angeles.
In the United States, people in Alaska and Hawaii will get the best views if they are early risers. Stargazers in southern Chile and Argentina may also enjoy the spectacle.
Skies permitting, all of Australia and New Zealand — as well as parts of Southeast Asia — will provide front-row seats on Wednesday evening.
A lunar eclipse goes through several stagesImage: Aleksandar Vukicevic/Zoonar/picture alliance
Europe, Africa and the Middle East will unfortunately miss out on the spectacle, according to Andrew Jacobs, the curator of astronomy at Sydney Observatory.
But those unable to see the event because of their location or cloudy skies can view it online.
The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles will stream the event beginning at 0845 UTC (1:45 a.m. Pacific Time).
The Lowell Observatory in Arizona will start broadcasting at 0930 UTC (2:30 a.m. Pacific Time).
And the Astronomical Society of South Australia will stream live on Facebook and YouTube, also starting at 0930 UTC (7 p.m. Australian Central Standard Time).
What is the 'Super Blood Moon' phenomenon?
The eclipse on Wednesday is not only the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years, but will also be occurring during a "super moon," when the moon is just 360,000 kilometers (225,000 miles) from Earth.
Astronomers say it will thus appear about 7% larger than normal and 15% brighter than usual.
At its farthest point from our planet, the moon is about 405,000 kilometers away.
The reddish glow comes as a result of sunlight refracting off the Earth's rim onto the moon's surface.
The next total lunar eclipse will be on May 15 to 16, 2022.
tj/rs (Reuters, AFP)
Did you know the moon was shrinking?
If the Artemis missions go to plan, people will be walking on the moon again within a few years. So it's high time we scrubbed up our knowledge about our lunar satellite. Here are seven facts to get you going.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The moon is shrinking!
According to NASA research, the moon is slowly losing heat, which causes its surface to shrivel up like a grape turning into a raisin. But that's not all: its interior is shrinking! The moon has become about 50 meters (150 feet) "skinnier" over the past several hundred million years.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images/B. Lamm
How did that US flag wave?
Conspiracy theorists believe that the lunar landing was a fake, and that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked around on July 21st, 1969, on a soundstage instead of the moon. They point to the fact that the flag planted by Aldrin waved as if moved by the wind, which would be impossible in space's vacuum. NASA's explanation: Aldrin was twisting the flagpole while planting it in the ground.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Neil A. Armstrong
Scorching hot and freezing cold
If it's summer in your neck of the woods, you might be sweating right now. But just remember: temperatures are a little more extreme on the moon. When the sun hits its surface, it can get up to 127 degrees Celsius (260 degrees Fahrenheit) hot. Without the warm glow, temperatures can drop down to -153 degrees Celsius (-243 degrees Fahrenheit). Brrr!
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Man on the moon
The myth of a person living on the moon has existed for almost as long as Earth's satellite itself. Some people see a face on the surface of the full moon, composed of the dark lunar plains and the lighter lunar highlands. Many cultures have tales about an actual person who committed some kind of misdeed and was banished to the moon for it. Astronauts are yet to encounter them, though.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Drifting apart — the end of solar eclipses
The moon is drifting away from Earth at a speed of almost 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) per year. The farther away our satellite is, the smaller it appears to us. In about 550 million years, it'll look too small to "cover" all of the sun, even at its closest position to Earth. That'll mean no more total solar eclipses.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Wolves don't care
Ah, howling at the moon — no old-timey scary movie is complete without it. But in fact, wolves do not intensify their howling when a full moon rolls around, and they don't direct their howls at the moon, either. They simply yowl at night, which is also the time when a full moon is most visible. That could be one reason our ancestors drew the connection.
Image: Imago/Anka Agency International/G. Lacz
Moon-walkers: Not a very diverse bunch
12 humans have walked on the moon so far. While they come from various professional fields, they have a couple of things in common: All of them are American, all of them are white and all of them are men. Let's see where the first non-American on the moon will be from — maybe it'll be a woman and/or person of color, too!
