A penumbral lunar eclipse, which takes place when the moon moves through the faint outer part of the Earth’s shadow, can be seen from our region at dawn and on Monday morning. The spectacular phenomenon occurs when the sun, the Earth and the moon are arranged in an almost straight line.
It won’t be as obvious as a full lunar eclipse, but it’s worth taking the time to appreciate the phenomenon, which will be most visible at 4:42 am in New York. The National Weather Service forecasts partially cloudy skies when the eclipse reaches its peak.
Monday’s full moon is also known as the beaver moon, named for the Native Americans for whom full moons were a kind of calendar. The names given to the moons correspond to the events that happen in nature, hence the beaver moon in November, when beavers create their winter shelters.
Earth’s moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago and has been moving away from our planet very slowly ever since, about 1.6 inches per year.
As NASA explains, the moon’s degree of illumination depends on its changing position relative to the sun as it orbits Earth, a cycle that repeats every 29 and a half days.
Lunar eclipses can only occur when the moon is full, and only if the moon passes through a part of the Earth’s shadow.
There are three types of lunar eclipses:
- The total lunar eclipse, which occurs when the entire moon passes through the umbra or inner shadow of the Earth. The moon takes on a vibrant red hue during totality and is often called a “blood moon.” The next visible total lunar eclipse will occur on May 26, 2021, according to Space.com.
- The partial lunar eclipse, when part of the moon crosses the threshold shadow of the Earth. It is easy to see without a telescope or binoculars.
- The penumbral lunar eclipse, the kind that will occur on Monday morning, is the least common. It can best be seen through a small telescope or binoculars.
The last full moon of the year is December 30. Native Americans called it a cold full moon for obvious reasons, but it has also been called a long night full moon.
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