The penumbral eclipse, the first lunar eclipse of the year, will happen this week
The start of 2020 will be marked by a spectacular lunar eclipse, known as the penumbral eclipse, which will occur on Friday 10th January.
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon are imperfectly aligned, meaning we are left with a stunning bright display here on Earth.
"The penumbral eclipse begins approximately an hour after moonrise at 17:07 GMT, the maximum eclipse occurs at 19:10 GMT when most of the moon’s face will be in the penumbral shadow of the Earth, and the eclipse ends at 21:12 GMT," Tania de Sales Marques, Astronomer from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, tells Country Living.
What is the penumbral eclipse?
"The eclipse on the 10th of January will be a penumbral lunar eclipse. The moon only reflects sunlight so lunar eclipses occur when that light is blocked by the Earth. In the case of a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon is covered by Earth’s lighter or outermost shadow (the penumbra) as opposed to its main shadow (the umbra)," Tania continues.
"This happens when the moon, the earth and the sun are not perfectly aligned. The moon will be at its full moon phase on the 10th January, but a penumbral eclipse is quite hard to see as the resulting effect will be a light shade across the face of the moon. Additionally, the moon will not be very high in the sky for the first part of the event."
Where can we see the penumbral eclipse?
Tania advises us: "If you really want to try to observe this event your best bet is to look at the moon during the maximum phase of the eclipse when it’s at an altitude of about 27 degrees (a bit less than three outstretched fists from the horizon) at 19:10 GMT."
However, not everyone will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse. According to Earth Sky, "during a penumbral eclipse, observant people in the right spot on Earth will look up and notice a dark shading on the moon’s face. Others look and notice nothing at all."
Let's hope it's a clear night!
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
You Might Also Like
