The first of the two total lunar eclipses of 2022 is happening this weekend . In the night between May 15 and 16 , our natural satellite will cross the Earth ’s shadower , slowly getting darker until it acquires the characteristic red color .
For this ground , in English - speaking countries , it is send for theBlood Moonand the coloring is due to the Earth ’s atmosphere refract red-faced sunshine on the shadowed Moon . The Moon will also be close to its perigee , the near distance to Earth in its oval-shaped ambit , which means it will be enceinte than modal , which is commonly acknowledge as a supermoon .
The Super Blood Moon will be visible in its entireness in most of North and Central America , all of South America , and all of Antarctica . Europe , the Middle East , and Africa will see the initial phase of the occultation , with the westerly - most region being able to see totality begin before the Moon sets below the horizon , blood-red like the setting Sun .
In the Pacific , the northwest of North America and Polynesian countries will instead see the dawn of the eclipsed Moon as it lift during the late phase of the astronomical consequence . The whole spectacle will last over five hours – 318 minutes and 40 second to be exact . entireness will last 84 minutes and 53 seconds , and the northerly tip of the Moon will pass close to the heart of Earth ’s shadow , so the prospect is that it will be quite a drear occultation .
The Moon first crosses the penumbra , the partially - illuminate region around Earth ’s shadow at 9:30 post-mortem examination ET . Our planet will enter the full fantasm about an hour later , when the partial eclipse begins . citizenry will have to expect for another hour before the full spectacle of the entire eclipse begins at 11:30 postmortem on May 15 . It will get through its maximum darkness about 42 proceedings later on , and will end at 00.53 am ET . The Moon will take another hour to entirely come out of Earth ’s dark , and another hour still before it is also out of the penumbra .
If you are not where the total or fond occultation will be visible or if the sky is sunless or if you just would rather see it from the comfortableness of your sofa , concern not . you’re able to watch it stream live on-line thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project .
If you miss this one , do n’t worry . The next one will be on November 8 , 2022 , seeable across the Pacific . After that , we ’ll have to wait for March 14 , 2025 .
