{"id":31504,"date":"2022-04-21T10:36:57","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T10:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=107666"},"modified":"2022-04-21T10:55:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T10:55:09","slug":"see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"See the total lunar eclipse on 16 May 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 21 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible on 16 May 2022, beginning at 02:32 BST from the UK, with totality occurring at 04:29 BST.<\/p>\n

As the lunar eclipse<\/a> will begin early in the morning, it\u2019s worth planning an early night on 15 May and setting your alarm clock for 03:00 BST.<\/p>\n

Find out when the next eclipse<\/a> is occurring or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly astronomy and observing advice.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Lunar Eclipse on 28 September 2015 by Scott Phillips, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Skymax 127 EQ-5, Canon 450d, Backyard EOS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

It will pay to have warm clothing and drinks at the ready so you can all be outside and ready to watch the start of the lunar eclipse at 03:27 BST.<\/p>\n

The Moon will be low above the southwest horizon as the initial partial stage of the eclipse begins and it will remain in this general direction as totality is reached at 04:29 BST.<\/p>\n

The Moon sets at 05:10 BST so you can all get some more sleep afterwards!<\/p>\n

What is a total lunar eclipse and when do they happen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Lunar eclipses don\u2019t happen more regularly because the Moon\u2019s 5\u02da<\/span> orbital tilt normally has it passing above or below Earth\u2019s shadow in space.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only when there\u2019s a straight-line alignment between the Sun, Earth and Moon that the Moon crosses into Earth\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n

When this happens, the observers on Earth\u2019s hemisphere facing the Moon witness a lunar eclipse.<\/p>\n

This is what will happen on the morning of 16 May 2022, when we in the UK will be in the right hemisphere for the first half of the eclipse.<\/p>\n

Understanding the penumbra and umbra<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The cone-shaped shadow of the Moon cast by the Sun creates an umbra and penumbra on Earth. Credit: Science Photo Library<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

At the Moon\u2019s distance, Earth\u2019s shadow has two parts: a weak outer penumbra and a dark umbra.<\/p>\n

The penumbral shadow is the region where, if you were on the Moon looking back towards the Sun, you would see it partially eclipsed by Earth.<\/p>\n

At the outer edge of this shadow the partial solar eclipse<\/a> would be tiny, increasing in magnitude the deeper into the penumbra you go.<\/p>\n

The umbral shadow sits at the centre of the penumbra and is the part of Earth\u2019s shadow where all of the Sun\u2019s light would be blocked from view.<\/p>\n

The darkness of the penumbra increases towards the umbra.<\/p>\n

Why is a lunar eclipse red?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Lunar eclipse on 28 September 2015 by Susan Snow, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 600D with a 300mm lens.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Earth casts an interesting shadow because it has an atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Light skimming the edge of our planet is refracted to partly infill the umbra.<\/p>\n

As our atmosphere scatters blue light, light that has passed through it tends towards the redder end of the spectrum, giving the umbra a red or orange colour.<\/p>\n

How to see the 16 May total lunar eclipse<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The total lunar eclipse of 16 May kicks off with the penumbral eclipse at 02:32 BST (01:32 UT).<\/p>\n

This is a weak part of any lunar eclipse and difficult to detect.<\/p>\n

As the Moon moves deeper into the penumbra the shadow\u2019s depth increases, and you\u2019re likely to see this as a dark shading near the western limb.<\/p>\n

It becomes darker until the Moon encounters the umbral shadow at 03:27 BST (02:27 UT).<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The phases of a lunar eclipse by Sarah & Simon Fisher, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, UK. Equipment: Canon 600D attached to Maksutov 127mm telescope, Prime Focus single shots<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The umbral shadow is distinct and darker than the penumbra. The ensuing partial phase of the eclipse grows in magnitude until,<\/span> at 04:29 BST (03:29 UT), the Moon is engulfed in dark shadow:<\/span> this is the start of totality.<\/p>\n

All the while, dawn will be progressing to create an interesting conundrum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas a bright non-eclipsed Moon is easy to see against bright sky, an eclipsed Moon against such a sky may seem to vanish from view, depending on the eclipse\u2019s darkness.<\/p>\n

From the UK, the Moon sets just after the point of greatest eclipse, timed for 05:11 BST (04:11 UT).<\/p>\n

This guide originally appeared in the May 2022 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By Pete Lawrence Published: Thursday, 21 April 2022 at 12:00 am A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible on 16 May 2022, beginning at 02:32 BST from the UK, with totality occurring at 04:29 BST. As the lunar eclipse will begin early in the morning, it\u2019s worth planning an early night on 15 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31505,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022.jpg",1376,842,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022-300x184.jpg",300,184,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022-768x470.jpg",768,470,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022-1024x627.jpg",800,490,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022.jpg",1376,842,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/04\/see-the-total-lunar-eclipse-on-16-may-2022.jpg",1376,842,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Pete Lawrence Published: Thursday, 21 April 2022 at 12:00 am A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible on 16 May 2022, beginning at 02:32 BST from the UK, with totality occurring at 04:29 BST. As the lunar eclipse will begin early in the morning, it\u2019s worth planning an early night on 15…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/31504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}