(Los Angeles) North America and a large part of South America will be able to admire on the night of Thursday to Friday a “near total” lunar eclipse, the longest of its kind since the year 1440.
The eclipse, at the height of which 99.1% of the Moon’s visible surface will be obscured (Friday at 4.30 a.m. EST), will also be visible from parts of northeast Asia, Polynesia and the he is from Australia, but not from Europe or Africa, says NASA on its website dedicated to the moon.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned. Our natural satellite is then found in the shadow of the Earth, which hides it from our view. If the alignment is not perfect, the eclipse is not total.
The eclipse of November 19 may be only partial, it will last a total of 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds, the longest since that of February 18, 1440, which had lasted 23 seconds longer.
The eclipse will begin at 2:19 a.m. EST when the Moon enters Earth’s shadow. For terrestrial observers, the lunar disk will give the impression of being slowly nibbled away.
At 3:45 a.m. EST, more than 95% of the lunar disk will be in shadow and the Moon will take on a reddish hue, as Earth’s atmosphere deflects red rays of sunlight into the interior of its shadow cone.
This phenomenon will be most visible during the peak of the eclipse at 4.30 a.m. EST.
At 5:47 a.m. EST, the entire Moon will once again be visible.
Cloudy sky over Montreal
The spectacle can be seen with the naked eye without any danger, unlike solar eclipses. Binoculars, glasses and telescopes will allow you to enjoy it even more, provided the sky is clear enough.
Unfortunately, the weather in the greater Montreal area does not bode well. The cloud cover will be broken by rare clearings.
According to NASA, it will be necessary to wait until February 8, 2669 to witness a partial eclipse of a duration longer (3 hours 30 minutes) than that of Friday, but a total eclipse is expected in less than a year, on November 8, 2022. , and will last 3 hours 40 minutes in total.