Looking up at the Moon can create a sense of awe at any time, but those who do so on the evening of Jan. 20 will be treated to the only total lunar eclipse of 2019.
Visible for its entirety in North and South America, this eclipse is being referred to by some as a super blood moon – “super” because the Moon will be closest to Earth in its orbit during the full moon and “blood” because the total lunar eclipse will turn the Moon a reddish hue.
The Moon passes through two distinct parts of Earth’s shadow during a lunar eclipse.
At 8:36 p.m. the edge of the moon will begin entering the penumbra. The Moon will dim very slightly for the next 57 minutes as it moves deeper.
At 10:41 p.m., the moon will be completely inside the umbra, marking the beginning of the total lunar eclipse. The moment of greatest eclipse, when the Moon is halfway through the umbra, occurs 11:12 p.m.
As the moon moves completely into the umbra, something interesting happens, it begins to turn reddish-orange. The reason for this phenomenon? Earth’s atmosphere.
As sunlight passes through it, the small molecules that make up our atmosphere scatter blue light, which is why the sky appears blue. This leaves behind mostly red light that bends, or refracts, into Earth’s shadow. We can see the red light during an eclipse as it falls onto the Moon in Earth’s shadow. This same effect is what gives sunrises and sunsets a reddish-orange color.