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The Beaver Blood Moon lunar eclipse occurs tomorrow, November 8, and will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2025. Across parts of North America and parts of South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, viewers will be treated to a full eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse will be visible from Iceland, other areas of South America, parts of central Asia and Russia. The Blood Moon will last about 85 minutes, providing a nice window of time to capture some great photos.
The initial phase of the lunar eclipse begins at 3:02 a.m. EST (0803 GMT). The partial eclipse begins just over an hour later, at 4:09 a.m. EST. Totality begins at 5:17 a.m. EST. The best views require a clear, dark sky. You can help locate a dark sky near you using darksitefinder.com.
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| ‘A map showing where the November 8, 2022 lunar eclipse is visible. Contours mark the edge of the visibility region at eclipse contact times. The map is centered on 168°57’W, the sublunar longitude at mid-eclipse.’ Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio |
Aside from cooperative weather, you don’t need special equipment to view the lunar eclipse, but binoculars, a telescope, or a long lens can help provide a better view of the unique red color. Concerning photography, there are many ways to approach capturing the lunar eclipse. Nikon has a helpful guide on its website that covers different photographic techniques you can use to capture stunning eclipse photos, no matter your camera. If you’d like an even more in-depth guide, check out this one from B&H. No matter the composition you want to capture, you’ll want a sturdy tripod and remote release, such as a cable release or connected smartphone app.
While ‘Blood Moon’ is just another name for a lunar eclipse, where does the name come from? Per NASA, ‘A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra. When the Moon is within the umbra, it will turn a reddish hue.’ The red hue is why it’s sometimes called a blood moon. In this case, the ‘blood moon’ occurs during November’s full Beaver Moon.
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| An artist’s depiction of what a total lunar eclipse looks like from the surface of the moon. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio |
The same reason the sky is blue is responsible for the red moon during a lunar eclipse. Different wavelengths of light have different properties. ‘Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more easily by particles in Earth’s atmosphere than red light, which has a longer wavelength,’ writes NASA. When the sun sets, the sunlight must travel through more of the atmosphere. Shorter wavelengths, like blue light, scatter, while longer wavelengths, such as red, orange, and yellow, pass through the atmosphere. During a lunar eclipse, like the Beaver Blood Moon tomorrow morning, the only sunlight that reaches the Moon passes through Earth’s atmosphere. The more dust or clouds in the atmosphere at the time, the redder the moon will appear.
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| ‘During a lunar eclipse, Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight. The blue light from the Sun scatters away, and longer-wavelength red, orange, and yellow light pass through, turning our Moon red.’ Image not to scale. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio |
This will be the last chance to see a total lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025. If the weather isn’t favorable or you’re outside the viewing zone, you can watch it live on Space.com.
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This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.
