The Centro Ciência Viva de Constância will be open this Sunday night to Monday, from May 15th to 16th, from 3:00 am to 6:00 am, to accompany the total eclipse of the Moon, with observations and image recordings of different phases of the phenomenon through of telescopes and, simultaneously, will broadcast live, with comments on the different phases of the eclipse, through the social network Facebook.
During the day of Monday, May 16 – “International Day of Light and “National Day of Scientists” – a recording of the event will be available, along with another one dedicated to the study of our natural satellite and scientific information that the Sunlight reflected from the lunar surface continues to provide, even without humans on the Moon.
The Lisbon Astronomical Observatory explains that the Moon begins to enter the Earth’s penumbra at 2:31 am and from that moment on the Moon gradually darkens, acquiring more gray tones. Then, at 3:28 am, the Moon begins to enter the Earth’s shadow, acquiring more reddish and brownish tones.
The beginning of the total eclipse occurs at 4:29 am, when the Moon is fully within the Earth’s cone of shadow. Although it is completely in shadow, the Moon is still visible but has a reddish and brownish color. In fact, during a lunar eclipse, the sun’s rays fall on the Moon after crossing the Earth’s atmosphere where they are scattered and lose a large amount of blue and green light. Thus, during the eclipse, the Moon is not illuminated with white light but with more reddish light.
The maximum of the eclipse occurs at 5:12 am when the Moon is at the center of the Earth’s shadow. The instant of the full moon phase occurs just 2 minutes later at 5:14 am. At 5:54 am the total eclipse ends, that is, the Moon begins to leave its shadow, progressively losing its reddish tone and gaining a dark gray tone. Finally, at 7:52 am, the Moon leaves the penumbra completely, returning to its usual hue, but by this time the Moon will already be below the horizon.
The next total lunar eclipse will occur on November 8, 2022.
Other articles
–
