SAASST News

Sunday, 06 November 2022 16:21

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

A penumbral lunar eclipse will happen on Tuesday, Nov. 08, 2022.

This eclipse will be visible from the United Arab Emirates as per the information given below:

Begins:                 Tue, Nov. 8, 2022, at 5:33 pm

Maximum:          Tue, Nov. 8, 2022, at 5:35 pm -0.729 Magnitude

Ends:                     Tue, Nov. 8, 2022, at 5:56 pm

Duration:             23 minutes

 

Since sunset on Tuesday, Nov. 08, happens at 17:33 and Full Moon is at 15:02, this penumbral lunar eclipse will be quite difficult to observe in addition to being originally barely noticeable.

A lunar eclipse occurs at a full Moon when the Moon moves through the shadow of Earth. Because the Moon shines only by reflected Sunlight, we see the Moon gradually darken as it enters the shadow.

Earth’s shadow consists of two parts. The umbra is the region of the total shadow. If we were in the umbra of Earth’s shadow, we would see no portion of the Sun. However, if we moved into the penumbra, we would be in partial shadow and see part of the Sun peeking around the edge of Earth. Thus in the penumbra, the Sunlight is dimmed but not extinguished.

If the orbit of the Moon carries it through the umbra, we see a total lunar eclipse. As we watch the Moon in the sky, it first moves into the penumbra and dims slightly; the deeper it moves into the penumbra, the more it dims. In about an hour, the Moon reaches the umbra, and we see the umbral shadow darken part of the Moon. It takes about an hour for the Moon to enter the umbra completely and become eclipsed. Totality, the period of a total eclipse, may last as long as one hour and 45 minutes, though the eclipse’s timing depends on where the Moon crosses the shadow.

When the Moon is eclipsed, it does not disappear completely. Although it receives no direct sunlight, it does receive some Sunlight refracted (bent) through Earth’s atmosphere. If we were on the Moon during totality, we would not see any part of the Sun because it would be entirely hidden behind Earth. However, we could see Earth’s atmosphere illuminated from behind by the Sun. The red glow from this “Sunset” illuminates the Moon during totality and makes it glow coppery red.

If the Moon does not move completely into the umbra, we see a partial lunar eclipse. This is because the part of the Moon that remains outside the umbra receives some direct sunlight, and the glare usually prevents our seeing the faint coppery glow of the part of the Moon in the umbra.

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the penumbra but misses the umbra entirely. Since the penumbra is a region of partial shadow, the Moon is only partially dimmed. Therefore, a penumbral eclipse is not very impressive.