How to Have the Full Super Flower Blood Moon 2021 Experience: Things to Know

The last complete lunar eclipse occurred more than two years ago, but the drought would end on Wednesday with the advent of the "super flower blood moon."

Viewers in western North America and far southern South America and those in the Hawaiian Islands will be able to see the complete lunar eclipse in the early morning of May 26. On the evening of the 26th, observers in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia areas should search for it.

Lunar Eclipse

When Earth crosses between the sun and the moon, our planet's shadow darkens the lunar disk, causing a lunar eclipse. Owing to the way light scatters in our atmosphere, rather than becoming totally black, the eclipsed part of the moon will take on interesting shades, often resulting in a rich blood-red shade. Complete lunar eclipses are often referred to as "blood stars" because of this.

This eclipse occurs around the year's largest and fullest full moon, adding to the intrigue. The moon will be near apogee-its nearest point to Earth in its egg-shaped orbit-during the case. It would only look slightly higher in the atmosphere than normal, but this is enough to give it the nickname "supermoon." Because of a long-standing relationship of flowers blooming at this time of year in North America, the full moon in May is also known as the flower moon.

Viewing Eclipses

Lunar eclipses, though less dramatic than solar eclipses, are more egalitarian because they can be viewed from a much greater part of the globe. Only anyone within a small line on Earth's surface can see the sun totally blocked out by the moon during a total solar eclipse. On the other hand, a lunar eclipse involves watching the moon move into Earth's shadow, which can be seen from somewhere where the moon is above the horizon. Lunar eclipses often happen at a much slower rate, giving you plenty of time to take in the shifting presence of the moon as the eclipse continues.

The best part is that, unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to see without special filters. You can use binoculars, a telescope, a telephoto lens, or only your eyes to enjoy the celestial display.

The unfortunate news is that the sun, Earth, and moon will not be precisely aligned during this eclipse. As a result, the moon would move through the edge of Earth's shadow rather than the middle. As a result, totality can last just 14 and a half minutes, well less than the estimated limit of nearly two hours.

Moon's Brightness

Depending on the conditions in Earth's atmosphere, the color of the eclipsed moon will change dramatically. The moon normally has a silvery tinge to it due to sunlight reflecting off its mottled gray base. The Earth bars direct sunlight from touching the moon during a lunar eclipse. However, sunlight will also be refracted by our atmosphere, and some of those rays can strike the moon, where they can be transmitted back to Earth.

Since red light has longer wavelengths, it travels through the atmosphere more quickly and therefore dominates during an eclipse-the same explanation that sunrises and sunsets look reddish. If a volcano erupts simultaneously, more lava and dust would be scattered in the atmosphere, making the eclipsed moon look darker in color.

During a lunar eclipse, an observer standing on the moon's near side will see a solar eclipse, with Earth looks like a black disc surrounded by a small orange or red ring-our atmosphere refracting the sun's sun rays.

Clear Starry Sky

Take a few minutes to observe the stars at totality. More stars and constellations may appear when the full moon's light dims, particularly if you're watching far away from city lights.

The moon will be in the southern zodiac constellation of Scorpio during the eclipse this month; watch for its brightest star, orange-red Antares, six and a half degrees to the left of the moon. That's a little more than the breadth of your first carried at arm's length or around a dozen times the moon's visible height. In the southeast, search for Jupiter, a bright planet, and Saturn, a much dimmer planet.

The most recent complete lunar eclipse occurred on January 21, 2019, while the most recent one visible from the continental United States was on July 27, 2018, nearly three years before. The next lunar eclipse will come even closer, with a partial lunar eclipse scheduled for November 19 that will be almost complete, with more than 97 percent of the moon's disk disappearing into Earth's shadow.

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Tags lunar eclipse, blood moon, Super moon, Flower Moon, moon, eclipse