Total lunar eclipse

23 Jul

Total lunar eclipse

After more than two years without any total lunar eclipses visible from Europe, on July 27th the moon will cross the shadow of the Earth, acquiring the coppery moonlight so characteristic of lunar eclipses.

The phenomenon will be broadcast live from Namibia, on July 27th, via the sky-live.tv channel with the collaboration of the EU project STARS4ALL and the High Energy Observatory (HESS).

Lunar eclipses happen when our satellite crosses through the shadow of the Earth. This does not happen every month, because the orbit of the Moon is inclined in relation to that of the Earth-Sun (ecliptic). Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are visible from anywhere in the world, once the Moon is above the horizon at the time of the eclipse.

On July 27th, 2018 there will be a total lunar eclipse with the maximum centred in the Indian Ocean according to data provided by NASA (see report). The whole phase of the Eclipse will last 1h 42m starting at 19h 30m UT (UT is the acronym in English of Universal Time and one more hour must be added to have the local time in the Canary Islands and two in continental Europe) and ending at 21h 13m UT. The Moon will begin to be in eclipse -into the earth’s shadow- at 18h 24m UT. From East Africa, the eclipse can be observed in its entirety. From Western Europe (Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, France or Italy) only the second part of the eclipse, with the moon dawning on the eastern horizon, can be observed.

Live from Namibia

Included in the Light Pollution Initiatives (LPI) of the European project STARS4ALL (stars4all.eu) and with the collaboration of H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System) and Hakos Astrofarm, the sky-live.tv channel will broadcast, live, the Total Lunar Eclipse from Namibia.

The appointment will be next Wednesday, July 27th, at 18:20 UT (19:20 local time in the Canaries, 20:20 CEST, 20:20 local time in Namibia).

During the entirety, the spectators will be able to verify that the Moon does not disappear from sight but acquires a reddish tint. The Earth’s atmosphere, which extends about 80 km beyond the diameter of our planet, acts as a lens that deflects sunlight. At the same time, it effectively filters its blue components, allowing only the red light through that will be reflected through the satellite. In this way, the Moon acquires the characteristic coppery glow.

“After two years without total lunar eclipses in Europe, on July 27, we will be able to see the Red Moon again. We must wait another six months to repeat the experience, in January 2019. The darkness produced by the eclipse will allow us to discover objects only visible from the austral skies, such as the Magellanic Clouds” says Miquel Serra-Ricart, an astronomer from the IAC and responsible for broadcasting.

Three Spanish Supercomputing institutes: the Centro Extremeño de Tecnologías Avanzadas (CETA-CIEMAT), the Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya (CSUC) and the Instituto de Astrofísicas de Canarias (IAC) will collaborate in the distribution of the web portal broadcast (sky -live.tv).

IAC Contact: Miquel Serra-Ricart, IAC researcher, mserra@iac.es