Do you remember a couple of weeks ago, when there was a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ partial solar eclipse in the UK?
Well, another is coming. Kind of.
Early risers will be treated to a lunar eclipse on Friday morning, where the moon will be painted a deep blood red.
Stargazers have already been treated not only to a partial solar eclipse – where the moon chomped roughly 90% of the sun – but one of the year’s best meteor showers and a parade of planets.
What is a lunar eclipse?
The Earth and moon are constantly doing a cosmic tango around the sun and, now and then, align.
Lunar eclipses are when the Earth slides between the sun and the moon.
The darkest part of the planet’s shadow, called the umbra, blankets the lunar surface, making it shine crimson instead of dusty white.
There are three types of lunar eclipses:
- Total, when the umbra swallows the moon whole
- Partial, when it takes a small bite
- Penumbral, when only the outermost part of Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra, grazes past our celestial neighbour. This doesn’t make the moon red but does darken it.
It’s why the type of eclipse is often called a blood moon.
Don’t worry, the red isn’t a sign of the end times. Even though it’s nighttime, sunlight still leaks through the edges of the Earth, Jake Foster, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, tells .
‘Our atmosphere then filters the sunlight that passes through it, allowing mainly red light to reach the moon and illuminating the lunar surface in an eerie red light,’ he says.
This is what happened last year, when the UK was treated to a total lunar eclipse:
How red the moon becomes partly depends on how many particles are floating in our skies.
Clouds, dust storms and anything else that whips up plumes can scatter blue wavelengths of light even more, making the moon appear a deeper shade of coppery red.
This is in contrast to a solar eclipse, which happens when the moon elbows itself in between the sun and our planet.
Lunar and solar eclipses always occur about two weeks apart – the amount of time it takes for the moon to move from one side of Earth to the other.
So, what type will the UK see?
A ‘strong partial one’, Foster says.
‘Around 94% of the moon will appear red, with a small sliver maintaining its usual grey tones.’
What time is the lunar eclipse?
Another big difference between a lunar and solar eclipse is that, unlike a solar eclipse, lunar eclipses occur at the same time for everyone.
They also happen slowly over several hours. Penumbral – when the moon passes Earth’s shadow – will start from 2.23am and last until 8.01am.
Around 94% of the moon will be covered by the Earth’s shadow at 5:12am.
How can I see the lunar eclipse? And do I need glasses to see the lunar eclipse?
That’s not the only difference, though.
Unlike a solar eclipse, you can look up at this eye-catching spectacle without the need for protective eyewear, like those rarer-than-gold-dust eclipse glasses.
Lunar eclipses can be seen with the naked eye but binoculars or a telescope will help you get a better view – again, you don’t need a solar filter to see the blood moon with professional viewing equipment.
‘Simply look towards the southwest to spot the moon,’ Foster says.
‘It will be fairly low during maximum eclipse, so a clear view of the southwestern horizon is recommended.
‘The moon will set below the horizon around one hour after the eclipse’s maximum, meaning UK viewers will miss the latter part of proceedings.’
Though how much, if any, of the blood moon you see will depend on how clear the night sky is.
And, in a classic UK way, it’s not looking too good. Timeanddate.com says that most major cities, including London, Cardiff and Glasgow, will be cloudy or rainy.
You won’t need to wait too long for the next one – a penumbral lunar eclipse will take place between February 20 and 21 next year.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
MORE: Nasa’s ‘SkyFall’ helicopters beam green waves to hunt for ice on Mars
MORE: Huge moon crater caused by Space X rocket crash revealed in new images
MORE: Flights could be grounded to stop passengers being exposed to solar flares