What is it?
Blood Moon is sometimes used to describe a
Total Lunar Eclipse. When the Earth casts its shadow on a Full Moon and
eclipses it, the Moon may get a red glow.
A Total Lunar Eclipse can be a Blood Moon
Lunar Tetrad
Total lunar eclipses are rare – only about
one in three lunar eclipses are total. About four to five total eclipses can be
seen at any place on Earth in a decade.
Every once in a while, four total lunar eclipses happen in a row.
This is called a lunar tetrad.
The total lunar eclipses happen 6 months apart. There are at least six full
Moons between two total lunar eclipses in a tetrad.
Full moons are pretty common, occurring every month. But on
Sunday, the full moon’s orbit will be closer to Earth, making it appear up to
14 percent larger. This increased size will make it a supermoon, an event that happens
about four to six times a year.
According to the Weather
Channel, the moon will also pass through the Earth’s shadow, creating a
lunar eclipse. During this eclipse, the sun’s light will have to travel through
the Earth’s atmosphere before it reaches the moon. This will give the moon a
red-orange tint, making it a blood moon.
On September 28,
2015, the Moon will turn a shade of red in many parts of the World as the
Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow on the Moon's
surface.
This rare Total Lunar
Eclipse of a Supermoon
will begin on the evening of September 27, 2015. In Europe, South/East
Asia, Africa, the Arctic, and in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans it
starts after midnight on September 28, 2015.
Also called a Blood Moon this
eclipse will last for about 1 hour and 12 minutes.
The September 28, 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse is the fourth and final eclipse in a series of four total lunar eclipses called the lunar tetrad. The first three eclipses of the tetrad took place on April 15, 2014, October 8, 2014 and on April 4, 2015.
Notice something interesting about the dates? Each of the eclipses in the tetrad occurs about 6 months apart and have 5 full Moons between them!
When to see it
Regions seeing at least some parts of the
eclipse: Europe,
South/West Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic,
Indian Ocean, Arctic, Antarctica.
If you live on the West Coast of the U.S. or Canada, you will be
able to see the supermoon and lunar eclipse beginning at 7:11 p.m. It might be
a good idea to eat dinner outside, as the event will last about an hour and 12
minutes.
On the East Coast, sky gazers will have to
wait until 10:11 p.m. to see the spectacular event.
And if you’re in Europe or Africa, you might
need to chug a Red Bull to see the event. The full eclipse will peak at around
3:11 a.m. on Monday in London and about 4:11 a.m. in Cape Town.
The times displayed are accurate to around 2-3 seconds.
|
Event
|
UTC Time
|
Time in Dar es Salaam*
|
Visible in Dar es Salaam
|
|
Penumbral
Eclipse begins
|
28 Sep,
00:11:47
|
28 Sep,
03:11:47
|
Yes
|
|
Partial
Eclipse begins
|
28 Sep,
01:07:13
|
28 Sep,
04:07:13
|
Yes
|
|
Full
Eclipse begins
|
28 Sep,
02:11:12
|
28 Sep,
05:11:12
|
Yes
|
|
Maximum
Eclipse
|
28 Sep,
02:47:09
|
28 Sep,
05:47:09
|
Yes
|
|
Full
Eclipse ends
|
28 Sep,
03:23:05
|
28 Sep,
06:23:05
|
No, below
horizon
|
|
Partial
Eclipse ends
|
28 Sep,
04:27:05
|
28 Sep,
07:27:05
|
No, below
horizon
|
|
Penumbral
Eclipse ends
|
28 Sep,
05:22:31
|
28 Sep,
08:22:31
|
No, below
horizon
|
* The Moon is below the horizon in Dar es Salaam some of the time, so
that part of the eclipse is not visible.
What if I miss it?
The last time a supermoon and blood moon
occurred at the same time was in 1982. Similarly, the next time this will occur
is in 2033. So if you skip it, you’ll have to catch the next one in 18 years.
No Need for Eye Protection
A partial solar eclipse looks like the
Moon has taken a bite of the Sun.
SOURCES:
Brittany Jones CooperEditor,
Yahoo Travel
http://earthsky.org
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