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| The moon seen from Manila, Philippines, during a lunar eclipse as the Earth casts a shadow across the face of the moon. |
The full moon will dip into Earth's shadow tonight
(Oct. 18), producing a lunar eclipse that can be seen by keen observers around
the world.
Weather permitting, skywatchers in Africa, Europe,
western Asia, and the eastern parts of North and South America will get the
chance to observe part of the southern portion of the moon passing into Earth's
penumbra -- the planet's outer shadow.
The shading
will be subtle, but during the penumbral lunar eclipse,
the moon will be partially in shadow for about four hours with the time of
deepest eclipse occurring at 7:50 p.m. EDT (2350 GMT). At that moment, the
Earth's outer shadow will cover 76.5 percent of the lunar disk. [See amazing photos of a penumbral
lunar eclipse]
You can also
watch the eclipse online. The online Slooh Space Camera will air a live
broadcast of the entire four-hour eclipse starting at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT).
Slooh's team of experts will join the show at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) to
comment during the eclipse's peak. You can watch the penumbral eclipse webcast
live on SPACE.com, courtesy of Slooh.
"Although a penumbral lunar eclipse might go
unnoticed by someone casually glancing at the moon, we will be able to observe
the gradual shading of the moon in the live images Slooh will broadcast
throughout the eclipse," Slooh's Paul Cox said in a statement. "The
shading becomes far more apparent when viewed as a time-lapse, and we'll show
viewers that during the live segment of the show."
People in the western portion of the United States
probably won't get a very good eclipse show. The deepest phase happens during
the late afternoon hours before moonrise, but people on the east coast are in a
better position to see this celestial event because it occurs right after
sunset. The penumbra may be seen over the southern limb of the moon.
Skwatchers in
Africa, Europe and western Asia will be able to catch the eclipse during the
middle of the night, as the moon is high in the night sky. The shading will
look like a slightly reddish tint on the bright full moon, according to
SPACE.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao.
A penumbral eclipse is not necessarily as striking as
a total or partial eclipse. During a partial eclipse, the inner shadow (called
the umbral shadow) of the Earth partially blocks the moon, while a total
eclipse occurs when the Earth's umbra completely casts the moon in shadow.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing picture Friday's penumbral lunar eclipse or any
other night sky view that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery,
send photos, comments and your name and location to managing editor Tariq Malik
at spacephotos@space.com.
Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom,Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
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