As most are aware there is going to be a full strawberry moon on the 5th which happens to be Friday. This will also hold a penumbral eclipse and while not every country will be getting a good view those in areas where it’s not visible can still catch the show if they want to.
The Virtual Telescope Project will be live streaming the lunar event itself and if you want to view it all you have to do is click here around noon. While it won’t be the same as seeing it in person it is a good chance for those who don’t have the opportunity to do-so to view. I personally will be watching myself as here in North America we won’t be graced with it in our natural night sky.
Now, if you’re wondering what exactly a penumbral lunar eclipse is, EarthSky explains it as follows:
In a penumbral lunar eclipse, only the more diffuse outer shadow of Earth – the penumbra – falls on the moon’s face. This third kind of lunar eclipse is much more subtle, and much more difficult to observe than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon. There is never a dark bite taken out of the moon, as in a partial eclipse. The eclipse never progresses to reach the dramatic minutes of totality. At best, at mid-eclipse, very observant people will notice a dark shading on the moon’s face. Others will look and notice nothing at all.
According to eclipse expert Fred Espenak, about 35% of all eclipses are penumbral. Another 30% are partial eclipses, where it appears as if a dark bite has been taken out of the moon. And the final 35% go all the way to becoming total eclipses of the moon, a beautiful natural event.
While it’s not as flashing and noticeable as your average lunar eclipse or perhaps even a solar eclipse, it is still special. This kind of thing is always a treat to see and even if you’re not viewing the eclipse, the moon itself should be quite pretty Friday night. There are overall three different kinds of lunar eclipses and if you want to learn more about lunar eclipses as a whole, you can take a peek at the video below.
There is always something amazing happening in space and this is one of those amazing things. It’s truly fascinating to learn about this kind of thing and well, if you’re interested in space you may not want to miss this live stream. Will you be taking the time to see this strawberry moon eclipse?