What time is the blood moon? Will thunderstorms stop you seeing it?

A total lunar eclipse happens when the whole moon enters the Earth’s shadow. One might think this to be impossible – because an eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in a straight line, and so if the Moon is above the horizon then the Sun must surely be below it.

Rain clouds and thunderstorms could prevent skygazers from seeing the “blood moon” lunar eclipse as forecasters warn of torrential downpours across eastern parts of Great Britain. The total lunar eclipse can be seen from different parts of the world and will be fully visible in most parts of India.

The fact our planet was closer than Mars, meant Earth sped along its orbit faster, taking two trips around the Sun in the same time it took for Mars to make just a single circuit. The eclipse will already have started by the time the Moon rises over the United Kingdom and Western Europe.

For those in areas from Whanganui to Wellington, there would be just a slim chance of glimpsing the totally-eclipsed moon as the Sun peeked above the horizon.

However, he said it was still worth seeing as the next blood moon would not be visible in New Zealand until May 2021.

The International Astronomical Center will organise an event on the Abu Dhabi Corniche, opposite Adnoc, at 8pm, which will include a talk on eclipses and visible planets that can be seen at this time of year. And finally, there are total lunar eclipses, where the entire moon passes through the umbra.

Although it won’t look almost as large as the blood moon, Mars will be its largest in size if you’re looking through a telescope and close to its maximum brightness in our sky.

However, the partial eclipse will be visible for nearly four hours. This brings the Moon completely in the shadow of the Earth making it darker.

Moon has no light of its own.

A blood moon in San Francisco on January 31st, 2018. Astrophysicist Ramesh Chender Kapoor, who was with Indian Institute of Astrophysics, opined that the lunar eclipse is not all harmful.

Even if you can’t see Friday night’s eclipse in real life, you can watch it on your computer.

He said unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions as they appear dimmer than the full moon. The only light which reaches moon and gets reflected back is the one which is refracted by the earth’s atmosphere.

It has been named “Blood Moon” as the Moon gets a rusty orange or deep red colour, when the sunlight is scattered through the Earth’s atmosphere. And of course, even those not in the path of the lunar eclipse can enjoy the full moon. This will be quite noticeable to the naked eyes.

While Mars will be overhead for people in central Chile, South African and Australia, it will be low in the southern sky for those watching in the U.S. and Europe.