Lunar eclipses happen only when the moon is full—at these times, our natural satellite is located opposite to the sun, with the Earth aligned in between.
When the moon is full, the side that faces towards our planet is fully illuminated, appearing like a perfect circle in the night sky. The full moon will be visible on the night of November 7-8.
Technically, the moon turns full only at a specific moment in time, which in November will be 6:02 a.m. Eastern Time, or 3:02 Pacific Time, on November 8. However, to most observers, the moon will appear full for around a day centered on this time.
There are several traditional names given to the full moons, depending on the month of the year, which originate from a number of places and historical periods, including Native American, colonial American and European sources.
A full moon that falls in November, for example, is often referred to as the “Beaver Moon”—a name referencing the fact that these animals begin to take shelter in their lodges at this time of year in preparation for the long winter ahead. It is when people would trap beavers in North America to harvest their fur.
What Is a Total Lunar Eclipse?
In the early-morning hours of November 8, the full Beaver Moon will undergo a total lunar eclipse, which, in general, occur when the moon passes into Earth’s shadow.
During a total lunar eclipse, the moon passes directly through the innermost and darkest portion of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra, which blocks direct sunlight from illuminating the surface of our natural satellite.
Because the moon’s orbit around Earth is tilted with respect to our planet’s orbit, lunar eclipses do not occur every full moon. Most of the time, the moon passes above or below the shadow at these times. However, occasionally, it moves through the shadow, producing an eclipse.
Total lunar eclipses are often referred to as blood moons, although this is not a scientific term. This name stems from the fact that the moon turns a shade of red during the “total” phase of these eclipses.
The reason that the moon does not darken completely as it passes through Earth’s umbra and instead takes on a reddish hue is that some light from the sun still reaches the lunar surface indirectly, having passed through Earth’s atmosphere and scattered in a specific way.
Due to a phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering, shorter wavelengths of light toward the violet end of the colour spectrum are scattered more easily by particles in Earth’s atmosphere than longer wavelength light, such as red, orange and yellow.
Because the only sunlight that reaches the moon during a total lunar eclipse has been filtered through Earth’s atmosphere, our natural satellite appears red. Various factors, including the amount of pollution or dust in the atmosphere in a given location, can affect the shade of red that the moon turns.
Total lunar eclipses process in several stages. Firstly, the moon enters the lighter part of Earth’s shadow (penumbra)—the only sign of which is a very light dimming that is often quite subtle. This is known as the penumbral eclipse phase.
The moon then starts to enter the darker part of Earth’s shadow (umbra) and our natural satellite dims noticeably. This is called the partial eclipse phase, and it looks like a bite has been taken out of the lunar disk.
Subsequently, the whole of the moon moves inside the umbra and it turns a shade of red—what’s known as the total eclipse phase, or totality. The process then reverses itself until the moon finally appears like a normal full object again.
Where Is the Eclipse Visible?
Greg Brown, a public astronomy officer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, told Newsweek that the entirety of totality for the eclipse on November 8 will be visible to people in Australia, New Zealand and eastern Asia, as well as Canada and the U.S.
Some places just outside these regions will see a portion of totality before the moon sets or after it rises from their location.
“Unlike solar eclipses, which are somewhat exclusive events, lunar eclipses are usually visible to around half of the world. Anyone who has line of sight to the moon during the eclipse can see it happening,” Brown said.
“This particular eclipse is centered over the Pacific Ocean, meaning the number of places you can see it from that don’t require a boat is about as limited as it gets.”
For most people in North America, the moon will be easily visible in its full phase, before being slowly hidden over the course of an hour as it passes into Earth’s shadow, according to Brown. Observers in places such as Alaska, Hawaii and some western parts of the mainland U.S. will be able to see every stage of the eclipse.
“Totality will last around an hour-and-a-half with the moon turning a deep orange-red color at this time, before the full moon slowly reappears over the course of another hour.”
During the event, the penumbral stage begins at 3:02 a.m. ET for those on the East Coast or 12:02 a.m. PT for people on the West Coast, according to NASA. The partial eclipse phase begins at 4:09 a.m. ET, or 1:09 a.m. PT, and the total phase begins at 5:17 a.m. ET, or 2:17 a.m. PT.
By the time totality ends at 6:42 a.m. ET or 3:42 a.m. PT, the moon will have set below the horizon for some observers on the East Coast, who will not be able to see the final part of the eclipse. For those on the West Coast, the partial eclipse ends at 4:49 a.m. PT, and the entire event will be over by 5:50 a.m.
This event will be the last total lunar eclipse for three years, with the next one scheduled for March 14, 2025, although there will be a number of partial and penumbral eclipses before then. The astronomical event on November 8 also coincides with midterm election day.
If you want to observe the eclipse, heading to a dark area with minimal light pollution will provide ideal viewing conditions, assuming that skies are clear in your location.
You do not need any special equipment to view a lunar eclipse, but if you have binoculars or telescope, these pieces of kit might enhance the experience. Unlike a solar eclipse, it is safe to view lunar eclipses without eye protection.
If you are not able to watch the eclipse in real life but still want to observe the event, Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, timeanddate.com, and the Virtual Telescope Project, which is based in Italy, are all providing live-streams of the event.
