FLORENCE – A total lunar eclipse will take place on the morning of Nov. 8 that will be visible from Florence. The University of North Alabama Planetarium will have telescopes available for people to view the eclipse from 3-6:20 a.m., weather permitting. A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon passes into the shadow of the Earth. The result is the Moon slowly goes from a full Moon to a dark red color and back to completely full within the span of a few hours.
“There are several stages of lunar eclipses,” said Dr. Mel Blake, Planetarium Director and Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy. “The first stage is the penumbral stage, when, from the point of view of an observer on the Moon, the Earth only blocks part of the Sun. The next stage is the partial-eclipse phase, where parts of the Moon have the light from the Sun entirely blocked. The total eclipse stage occurs when the entire Moon is within the Earth’s shadow. After total eclipse, the sequence reverses itself, with a partial eclipse followed by a penumbral stage at the end.”
The penumbral stage tends to be subtle, with most observers perhaps only noticing that the Moon looks somewhat dimmer. A lunar eclipse in partial phase makes the Moon appear as though a bite has been taken out of it, and the total eclipse is often referred to as the “Blood Moon” because of the dark red appearance the Moon takes.
“This color is caused by red light passing through the Earth’s atmosphere and hitting the Moon’s surface and reflecting back to us,” Dr. Blake said. “Lunar eclipses were often thought to be harbingers of doom, heralding the death of a ruler or a coming disaster. The full Moon in November is also called the Beaver Moon so it will be a Beaver Blood Moon.”
The penumbral stage is set to begin on the early morning of Nov. 8 at 2:02 a.m., with partial eclipse to begin at 3:09 a.m. The total eclipse will begin at 4:16 a.m., with the maximum eclipse for Florence taking place at 4:59 a.m.
Media Release/University Media & Public Relations
UNA
