Don’t miss the lunar eclipse at the Harvest Moon Supermoon on September 17. What to expect
On the evening of September 17, a partial lunar eclipse will turn the moon a hazy reddish-brown color as Earth’s shadow falls on the moon’s surface.
The partially lunar eclipse will be visible from most of North America, all of South America, Europe, all but the easternmost parts of Africa, western parts of Asia and Russia, and parts of Antarctica.
The exact timing of the partial lunar eclipse depends on your location and you can check websites like Timeanddate.com to find specific times based on your location. For those in Eastern Time, the eclipse will reach its darkest phase, with the Moon most obscured by Earth’s umbra, at approximately 10:44 p.m. EDT on September 17. In Europe and Africa, the eclipse will occur in the early hours of September 18. In London, the peak of the eclipse will be visible at approximately 3:45 a.m. BST on September 18.
If you can’t watch the lunar eclipse in person, you can watch all the action online here on Space.com. We’ve put together several lunar eclipse live streams showing the Super Harvest Moon on September 17.
What causes a lunar eclipse?
During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow, creating the impression of a blurry “bite” cut out of the Moon’s surface. The shadow obscures the side of the Moon facing Earth. The size of this “bite” is determined by the orientation of the Sun. Earthand moon.
About 3.5% of the visible surface of the Moon will be covered by the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra. The rest of the Full moon will take on a slightly reddish-brown appearance, as the lighter part of the Earth’s shadow, which does not completely block the sunThe light will fall on much of the lunar surface.
Super special solar eclipse
The partial lunar eclipse is something very special because it also occurs in a “Supermoon“, the second of four consecutive supermoons in 2024.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the point in its orbit (which is elliptical) closest to Earth. As a result, the moon appears slightly brighter and larger than usual, but the difference is subtle and difficult to see with the naked eye.
The term supermoon generally refers to a full moon that is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. Fred EspanakSolar eclipse expert and retired NASA astrophysicist, there will be four supermoons in 2024, in August, September, October and November.
A lunar eclipse never comes alone
About two weeks after the lunar eclipse, the Earth will experience a annular solar eclipse on October 2ndThe dazzling solar eclipse, a “ring of fire,” will be visible over parts of the Pacific Ocean and southern Chile and Argentina.
You can use all Solar eclipse Action with our eclipse live blog. We’ll also be streaming the eclipse live on Space.com. More details on how to watch it online will be announced in due course.
Editor’s note: If you capture a great photo of the Moon during September’s partial lunar eclipse and want to share it with Space.com readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to [email protected].
