O first lunar eclipse of 2022 already has a date set and should take place on May 16, during the night. Visible in most of South America, North America, Africa and Europe, in Brazil the phenomenon should last just over 1 hour and 20 minutes and will begin shortly after 00:30 on the 16th.
The upcoming lunar eclipse will be the first three two that are predicted for this year. The first should take place on November 8th. Last Saturday, 30th, at 5:28 pm (Brasília time), the first solar eclipse of 2022 occurred, being visible only in the southern region of the country. The information is from the TecMundo portal.
As with solar eclipses, the lunar eclipse can be total (when the Moon is completely hidden by the Earth’s shadow) or partial (when it is only partially hidden by the shadow). As for the duration, the event depends on the position of the Moon in its orbit around the Earth, and can reach until almost 2 hours.
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In contrast, a lunar eclipse can be seen from anywhere on the night side of the Earth, while a solar eclipse can only be seen from a relatively small area of the world.
To observe the lunar eclipse, no special equipment is needed. Just observe the sky during the indicated date and time.
How do lunar eclipses happen?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves in its orbit so that it falls into the Earth’s shadow. At that moment, the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned, with the Earth located between the two.
The effect of the Earth’s shadow on the Moon, contrary to popular belief, is not darkness. In general, its surface acquires a reddish color. This happens because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scatteringEffect in which sunlight is refracted (broken) and scattered in the Earth’s atmosphere, which deflects only specific wavelengths towards the Moon. .
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