A spectacular full moon is fast approaching, with plans to decorate the night sky on Sunday night. It marks not only a supermoon, but also a bloody moon – thanks to a lunar eclipse.
The last total lunar eclipse occurred a year ago, on May 26, 2021. If the weather is clear, millions of sky watchers in America, Europe and Africa will be able to see the total lunar eclipse on the night of May 15-16.
What is a blood moon?
According to NASA, a bloody moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, when the Earth is located directly between the moon and the sun, hiding the moon from sunlight.
During the aggregate, the moon will be a faint, reddish glow as the red wavelengths of sunlight filter through our planet’s atmosphere onto the moon’s surface. At various times during the eclipse, it may also appear to acquire shades of orange, yellow or brown.
“When this happens, the only light that reaches the surface of the moon is from the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere,” explained the space agency. “Air molecules from the Earth’s atmosphere scatter most of the blue light. The rest of the light is reflected on the moon’s surface with a red glow that makes the moon look red in the night sky.”
The total lunar eclipse was observed on May 26, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand. Phil Walter / Getty Images
The full moon this month is also a supermoon, which means it looks a little bigger and brighter than usual because it is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit known as the perigee.
It is also the flower moon, one of the names given to the full moon in May due to the abundance of flowers associated with spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also called the moon for planting corn and milk moon.
How to watch
Unlike a solar eclipse, which requires special goggles to prevent eye damage, a lunar eclipse is safe to see with the naked eye – but binoculars or a telescope would also improve the viewing experience.
The visible part of the eclipse will begin around 10:30 pm ET on May 15, NASA says, when the moon enters the shadow of the Earth. The totality, when the moon is completely covered by the shadow of our planet, follows around midnight and lasts about an hour and a half.
It will end around 2 am ET.
Eclipse Visibility Map for the Total Lunar Eclipse May 15-16, 2022 NASA / JPL-Caltech
According to NASA, viewers in the eastern United States will see the eclipse begin with the moon well above the horizon, while those in the central part of the country will see it begin about an hour and a half after dark. On the west coast, the moon will rise when it is already in motion, so the best views will be to the southeast.
So spectators on the east coast will be able to see the event high in the sky, but those on the west coast must look for an unobstructed place to watch. According to timeanddate, this will be the longest total lunar eclipse in prime time on the West Coast in this century.
But don’t worry if you don’t have an optimal view: NASA will broadcast the event live, showing views from around the world and answering viewers’ questions about the phenomenon.
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Sophie Lewis is a social media producer and fashion writer for CBS News, focusing on space and climate change.
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