We’re observing Auriga in the northwestern sky but we will need to come back to it since there’s a very special full moon on Sunday. May’s full moon is known as the Flower Moon but besides being a lunar eclipse, it will also be a super moon. Because the moon looks red during a lunar eclipse, some have been calling the Super Blood Flower Moon. What will make this lunar eclipse even more interesting is that it will start before the moon rises so it will look really different because part of it will be in the Earth’s shadow when it rises at 8:05 p.m. and then will reach totality of the eclipse at 8:30 p.m. for those watching from San Mateo. It will still be pretty bright out since the sun sets at 8:15 p.m. The total lunar eclipse will last until almost 10 p.m. This would be a good night to get out the binoculars for even better viewing.
You might recall from previous Look Ups that a super moon is when the moon is closer to the Earth than usual. The only time it’s really noticeable is when the moon is rising. Between the moon illusion (the moon always looks larger when it’s close to the horizon) and actually being closer, it’s easily noticeable when the moon is rising. To repeat, the moon will look unusual when it rises since the lunar eclipse will have already started.
You might also recall that a lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is directly between the moon and the sun, which results in the Earth casting its shadow on the moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the moon is fully covered by Earth’s shadow, giving the moon a reddish tone. This phenomenon is where the term “blood moon” comes from. The moon will enter the outer edge of earth’s shadow, called the penumbra, at 7:28 p.m. It reaches the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra, at 8:30 p.m. It leaves the umbra at 9:54 p.m., which is when the total eclipse ends. Then it’s in penumbra until 10:55 p.m., revealing a partial eclipse. The moon will be outside of all shadows by 11:51 p.m.
It doesn’t seem everyone agrees on when the super moons will occur this year but most agree that there will be another one next month.
Look Up appears in the weekend edition. If you have any astronomical questions or facts you’d like to share email news@smdailyjournal.com with the subject line “Look Up.”
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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