When will the penumbral lunar eclipse occur?<\/h2>\n
The penumbral eclipse will occur on 5 May 2023.<\/strong> It will occur at 3:14pm UTC (4:14pm BST), however because the Moon will be below the horizon at this time, we will not be able to see the eclipse from the UK.<\/p>\n The Moon will rise at 8:35pm on 5 May and set at 5:31am the next morning.<\/p>\n The penumbral eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and Antarctica (times vary with location). According to Time and Date, this will be the deepest penumbral eclipse until September 2042<\/a>.<\/p>\n *UTC is one hour behind BST<\/p>\n The penumbral eclipse will occur when the Moon is in the constellation Libra.<\/p>\n The eclipse on 5 May is not a full lunar eclipse, nor a partial lunar eclipse \u2013 it\u2019s a penumbral lunar eclipse.<\/p>\n A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth\u2019s penumbral shadow, which is the lighter, outer part of the Earth\u2019s shadow. The Moon will not pass through the darker central part of the Earth\u2019s shadow (the umbra). The resulting effect is subtle, and viewers may see the Moon darken, but not disappear.<\/p>\n In contrast, during a partial lunar eclipse, the Moon passes through the Earth\u2019s umbra, the inner, darker part of the Earth\u2019s shadow. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon passes completely into the shadow cast by the Earth. This causes the Moon to appear partially or completely reddish-brown, giving it the nickname \u2018Blood moon\u2019.<\/p>\n During a lunar eclipse, the Sun<\/a>, Earth, and Moon align perfectly, causing the Earth\u2019s shadow to block sunlight from reflecting off the Moon\u2019s surface. While the Moon does not disappear entirely, during a full lunar eclipse it will turn a bright, copper-red colour.<\/p>\n The Moon goes through different stages during a lunar eclipse, first passing into the penumbra (the outer part of the Earth\u2019s shadow), then into the umbra at totality, before returning to the penumbra on the other side, and finally leaving the shadow altogether.<\/p>\n During the penumbral eclipse on 5 May, the Moon will not pass into the umbra (it just<\/em> misses it), remaining only in the penumbra.<\/p>\n Sadly, no. The Moon will not turn red during the eclipse on 5 May 2023, as it does during a total lunar eclipse. The Moon may appear slightly darker or perhaps even reddish<\/em>, but the effect is much more subtle than during a total lunar eclipse.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, this will be a disappointing lunar eclipse for two reasons,\u201d says Dr Darren Baskill<\/a>, astronomy lecturer at the University of Sussex.<\/p>\n \u201cFirstly, for us in the UK, the eclipse ends just before the Moon rises. While the very south-eastern tip of England is a theoretical exception, as the Moon rises there 45 minutes earlier than it does over Scotland, it will still be daylight as the Moon rises over Kent, and so impossible to notice the eclipse by eye!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSecondly, even if you are in a favourable location on Earth \u2013 such as in Asia \u2013 it will be difficult to notice any changes, as on this occasion, the Moon is travelling through the Earth\u2019s outer, lighter, \u2018penumbral\u2019 shadow, and not the darker, central, \u201cumbral\u201d shadow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo no matter where you are on Earth, the Moon will not go dark red like it does when it passes through the heart of the Earth\u2019s shadow. Instead, it will just dim slightly as it passes through the Earth\u2019s lighter outer shadow,\u201d explains Baskill.<\/p>\n During a lunar eclipse, two shadows are cast on the Moon: a lighter, outer shadow called the penumbra, and a darker, inner shadow called the umbra.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything \u2013 including the Earth and yourself! \u2013 has two types of shadow:\u00a0 the dark heart of the shadow called the umbra, and then a lighter outer shadow around it, called the penumbra,\u201d says Baskill.<\/p>\n And our expert has a nifty experiment that you can try yourself:<\/p>\n \u201cAt night, hold your hand roughly 60cm (or two feet) over white paper and beneath your ceiling lights, and you will see that your hand has both a deep shadow in the middle, and a lighter outer shadow around the edge,\u201d Baskill explains.<\/p>\n The degree of immersion of the Moon in the umbra defines the type of eclipse observed.<\/p>\n When the Moon partially passes through the umbra, it results in a partial lunar eclipse, while a total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon enters, and is fully shrouded by, the umbra.<\/p>\n The next partial lunar eclipse will occur on 28 October 2023, while the next penumbral lunar eclipse will occur on 25 March 2024. But we\u2019ll have to wait until\u00a014 March 2025<\/a> for the next total lunar eclipse, when we\u2019ll also be treated to another two total lunar eclipses in (relatively) quick succession: 7 September 2026 and 3 March 2026.<\/p>\n Similar to a solar eclipse, which can only occur during a new Moon, a lunar eclipse can only happen when the Moon is full. It occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in perfect alignment, and this alignment only takes place during the full Moon phase of the lunar cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cA lunar eclipse always occurs either two weeks before or after a solar eclipse, and since there was a solar eclipse on 20 April 2023, the accompanying lunar eclipse occurs on 5 May,\u201d Baskill says.<\/p>\n Unlike solar eclipses that require special equipment to observe safely, lunar eclipses can be viewed with the naked eye. This is because the Moon only reflects sunlight and doesn\u2019t emit any dangerous radiation. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon doesn\u2019t get any brighter than a full Moon, so it is safe to watch without protective gear.<\/p>\n To observe a lunar eclipse, all you need is clear skies and a good view of the Moon. It\u2019s recommended to avoid areas with high light pollution to enhance visibility.<\/p>\n Darren is an outreach officer and lecturer in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Sussex. He previously lectured at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, where he also initiated the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n A full Moon, eclipse and meteor shower will occur on the eve of the Coronation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27278,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse.jpg",2400,1022,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse-300x128.jpg",300,128,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse-768x327.jpg",768,327,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse-1024x436.jpg",800,341,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse-1536x654.jpg",1536,654,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/lunar-eclipse-today-how-to-see-the-may-2023-penumbral-eclipse-2048x872.jpg",2048,872,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A full Moon, eclipse and meteor shower will occur on the eve of the Coronation.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/Penumbral-lunar-eclipse-5-May-2023-dea945d.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C320"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?<\/h2>\n
What causes a lunar eclipse?<\/h2>\n
Will the Moon turn red?<\/h2>\n
So, what will we be able to see?<\/h3>\n
What\u2019s the difference between the Earth\u2019s umbra and penumbra?<\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/GeometryofaLunarEclipse-153ba70.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C620"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>When is the next lunar eclipse?<\/h2>\n
Here is a list of the upcoming lunar eclipses:<\/h3>\n
Why does a lunar eclipse only happen during a full Moon?<\/h2>\n
Viewing tips<\/h2>\n
About our expert, Dr Darren Baskill<\/span><\/h4>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"