A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Sun and Moon align so that the Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth. A partial lunar eclipse will darken the moon for much of the globe overnight on November 18th through the early morning hours of November 19th. This will be visible across all of North America, much of South America, eastern Australia, and northeastern Asia. According to NASA Ambassador Tony Rice, 99.1% of the Moon will be in Earth’s shadow at maximum eclipse which makes this event very close to a total lunar eclipse.
Below is the world map showing where the eclipse is visible at the time of greatest eclipse. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
TIMING EST:
Friday November 19th
1:02 AM Penumbral eclipse begins (P1)
1:54 AM Penumbral first visible?
2:18 AM Partial eclipse begins (U1)3:57 AM Full Moon
4:02 AM Greatest eclipse (GE)
5:47 AM Partial eclipse ends (U4)
6:10 AM Penumbral last visible?
7:03 AM Penumbral eclipse ends (P4)
7:02 AM Sunrise
7:13 AM Moonset
WHAT TO EXPECT:
Something called Rayleigh scattering will occur. Rayleigh scattering is the same phenomenon that makes our sunsets red. This phenomenon refers to the scattering of light off of the molecules in the air such as dust. This will cause the Moon to turn red during the lunar eclipse.
WEATHER:
With a cold front swinging across the Carolinas Thursday night, clouds could get in the way of a great view. If it’s cloudy, we won’t have to wait long for another lunar eclipse. There will be two total Lunar Eclipses in 2022 – the first coming on May 15-16 and the second occurring on November 8th.
FULL MOON:
November’s full moon is known as the Beaver Moon, as beavers are preparing for winter. Other names for November’s full moon include: the Frost or Frosty Moon or the Snow Moon. The moon will be full Friday November 19th at 3:57 AM EST.
* In addition to the partial Lunar Eclipse Thursday PM/Friday AM, the Leonid Meteor Shower peaks Wednesday night into Thursday morning.