Penumbral lunar eclipse: The faint outer part of Earth's shadow is cast across the lunar surface.How much of a "bite" we see depends on how the sun, Earth and moon align, according to NASA. Earth's shadow will appear dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. Partial lunar eclipse: During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the moon enters Earth's shadow, which may look like it is taking a "bite" out of the lunar surface.Total lunar eclipse: Earth's shadow is cast across the entire lunar surface.Follow for updates on the Lucy mission.There are three types of lunar eclipses depending on how the sun, Earth and moon are aligned at the time of the event. Since the spacecraft will be 64 million miles away and uses the Deep Space Network, it will likely take a few weeks to download and process the images. The mission team plans to capture a view of both the Earth and the Moon with the high-resolution imager, L’LORRI. The Lucy spacecraft, currently on its journey to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, will turn its gaze toward its home planet to observe a portion of the five-hour long eclipse – from just before the penumbral eclipse to just before the end of totality. The spacecraft is solar-powered, so LRO will power down to preserve its battery while the Moon is in shadow. NASA’s mission team for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), NASA’s spacecraft in orbit around the Moon, will turn the instruments off during the eclipse. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio Will any NASA spacecraft observe the eclipse? 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.Īrtist’s depiction of the Earth during a lunar eclipse from the surface of the Moon. Light travels in waves, and different colors of light have different physical properties. The same phenomenon that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red causes the Moon to turn red during a lunar eclipse. Why does the Moon turn red during a lunar eclipse? Here are some more skywatching tips for the month of May. The Moon will be in the constellation Libra. The whole Moon is in Earth’s penumbra, but again, the dimming is subtle. It will look as if a bite is being taken out of the opposite side of the lunar disk as before. If you want to take a photo, use a camera on a tripod with exposures of at least several seconds.Īs the Moon exits Earth’s umbra, the red color fades. Try binoculars or a telescope for a better view. The entire Moon is now in the Earth’s umbra. The part of the Moon inside the umbra will appear very dark. To the naked eye, as the Moon moves into the umbra, it looks like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk. The Moon begins to enter Earth’s umbra and the partial eclipse begins. The Moon begins to dim, but the effect is quite subtle. The Moon enters the Earth’s penumbra, the outer part of the shadow. Watch on Facebook | YouTube | NASA Television | /live What can I expect to observe? UTC (May 16) Watch at one of the following locations and ask your lunar eclipse questions using #AskNASA on social media. NASA will feature livestreams of the eclipse from locations across the globe! We’ll also host an episode of NASA Science Live, from 11 p.m.
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