NASA says that a lunar eclipse over 100 minutes will occur on Friday, making it the longest lunar eclipse of the century. We will not be able to see the eclipse in Jacksonville, or in any of North America. The best viewing spots on Friday will be near the Middle East, Southeastern Africa, Asia, and India.
The lunar eclipse totality (when the earth's shadow is blocking all of the moon) will last just shy of an hour and 43 minutes. The partial eclipses that lead up to and follow the total eclipse will last an hour and 6 minutes each. The total time of the entire eclipse will be almost four hours.
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Also of interest, Mars will be visible very close to the eclipsed moon.
Several different entities will live stream the lunar eclipse, here are a few options to watch the eclipse from Jacksonville:
- Virtual Telescope will broadcast the total lunar eclipse pairing with the Red Planet from the Roman Forum on the Palatine Hill in Rome, facing the legendary Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine Click here to go to their website
- Sky Live TV will broadcast the lunar eclipse from Hess, Namibia and has the option for Spanish commentary also. Click here to go to their website
- The Bareket Observatory in Israel will also offer a live view of the total eclipse, you can visit their site by clicking here
Tune in starting at 2:24p.m. (Jacksonville time) to see the partial eclipse. Tune in from 3:30-5:13p.m. to see the full eclipse. The maximum eclipse will be at 4:21p.m.
What is a lunar eclipse?
According to NASA, the moon moves in an orbit around Earth, and at the same time, Earth orbits the sun. Sometimes Earth moves between the sun and the moon. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the moon. Instead of light hitting the moon’s surface, Earth's shadow falls on it. This is an eclipse of the moon -- a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse can occur only when the moon is full.
A lunar eclipse can be seen from Earth at night. There are two types of lunar eclipses: total lunar eclipses and partial lunar eclipses.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth. Although the moon is in Earth's shadow, some sunlight reaches the moon. The sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, which causes Earth’s atmosphere to filter out most of the blue light. This makes the moon appear red to people on Earth.
A partial lunar eclipse happens when only a part of the moon enters Earth's shadow. In a partial eclipse, Earth's shadow appears very dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. What people see from Earth during a partial lunar eclipse depends on how the sun, Earth and moon are lined up.
A lunar eclipse usually lasts for a few hours. At least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, but total lunar eclipses are rare. It is safe to look at a lunar eclipse.
Why does NASA study eclipses?
Hundreds of years ago, when people observed the moon during an eclipse, they discovered that the shape of Earth is round. Even after all these years, scientists are still learning about the moon from lunar eclipses. In December 2011, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter gathered data about how quickly the moon’s day side (the side that always faces Earth) cools during a lunar eclipse. NASA can learn what the moon's surface is made of from this data. If an area of the moon's surface is flat, it will cool quickly. Scientists use this data to know which areas of the moon are rough with boulders and which are flat.
NASA also studies solar eclipses. Scientists use solar eclipses as an opportunity to study the sun’s corona. The corona is the sun's top layer. During an annular eclipse, NASA uses ground and space instruments to view the corona when the moon blocks the sun’s glare.