Lunar Eclipse 2022: How to Watch the Last Blood Moon Until 2025

The last lunar eclipse of the year will occur on Tuesday, when the Earth blocks the Sun’s rays from reaching the Moon. Also known as a Blood Moon, the lunar eclipse will occur about a year after the last lunar eclipse, and viewers in North America, Central America, most of South America, the Pacific Ocean, Australia, New Zealand and Asia will see. The Moon darkens and turns red on Tuesday. This will be the last lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025.

How to watch a lunar eclipse

The Moon will pass through the northern part of the Earth’s shadow, and the total is predicted to last 86 minutes. Mid-eclipse occurs on November 8th at 10:59 Universal Time (UT) or 4:29pm IST, about six days before apogee, when the Moon is farthest from Earth in its orbit. The actual clock times of the eclipse depend on your time zone.

You don’t need equipment to view the Blood Moon, but binoculars or a telescope can help enhance the view and the red color of Earth’s only natural satellite.

You can also watch the lunar eclipse in the video embedded below

What to expect from a lunar eclipse

As a result, during a solar eclipse, the Moon will appear 7 percent smaller than it does when it is at perigee (closer to Earth), but the difference is not noticeable. Tuesday’s eclipse will be slightly brighter than May’s — especially in the northern half of the Moon — as the Moon does not slide closer to the dark side of Earth’s shadow.

There are plenty of fun things for viewers to look at while admiring the eclipse. During totality, the Earth’s shadow dims the Moon enough for the stars to be visible to its far end. In addition, Uranus reaches opposition just one day after a solar eclipse, when it faces Earth directly from the Sun and is closest and brightest.

And on the night of the eclipse the distant planet will be to the upper left of the red-colored Moon — binoculars will reveal the planet’s pale disk. The farther west you are, the smaller the gap between the planet and the Moon. Also, the Northern and Southern Taurid meteor showers peak during this time, so eclipse watchers may be treated to a few meteors roaming the night sky.

All phases of the eclipse happen at the same time for everyone, but not everyone will see a total eclipse. Weather permitting, viewers in western North America will see the entire event on the morning of November 8, part of the eclipse phase that begins an hour or so after midnight. In Hawaii, the eclipsed Moon will be directly overhead. Viewers in parts of the mid-continent will see all of totality and most of the final stages, while those on the East Coast can see the sunrise as totality ends.

South America will see the first stages of the eclipse to totality, while Central America can enjoy the show longer and see it in full phase. The eclipse is an evening event in central and eastern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and the Moon rises during prephase or during totality.

What to look for during a lunar eclipse.

The Moon’s leading edge enters the pale outer edge of Earth’s shadow: the penumbra. You won’t be able to see anything until the Moon is almost halfway through the penumbra.

1. View the faint darkness on the left side of the Moon as seen from North America. The penumbral shading becomes stronger as the Moon moves deeper.
2. The penumbra is the region where an astronaut standing on the Moon can see the Earth covering only part of the Sun’s disk.
3. The leading edge of the Moon enters the umbra, which is the cone of Earth’s shadow where the Sun is completely hidden. You should notice the dramatic dimming at the leading edge of the moon’s disk. Through binoculars, you can watch the edge of the umbra slowly cover one aspect of the moon, as the entire sky begins to darken.
4. The trailing edge of the Moon slips into the umbra at the start of a total solar eclipse. But the Moon won’t be completely dark: It’s sure to glow some shade of deep orange or red.
5. Why is this? The Earth’s atmosphere scatters and bends (intercepts) sunlight that travels along its edges, diverting some of it from the eclipsing Moon. If you were on the Moon during a lunar eclipse, you would see the Sun obscured by a dark Earth filled with the red light of all the sunrises and sunsets that ring the earth at that time.
6. Red umbral light can vary greatly from one eclipse to the next. Two main factors affect its brightness and hue. First of all, how deep the Moon goes into the sky as it passes; the center of the umbra is darker than its edges. Another factor is the state of the Earth’s atmosphere. If a recent large volcanic eruption has contaminated the stratosphere with thin global haze, the lunar eclipse can be dark red, ash brown, or sometimes almost black.
7. In addition, blue light is reflected back into the earth’s clear, ozone-rich atmosphere above the thick layers that produce the red colors of sunrise and sunset. This blue light from ozone forms the Moon as well, especially near the edge of the umbra. You will need binoculars or a telescope to see this effect.
8. As the Moon moves forward in its orbit, events replay in sequence. The edge of the Moon is reflected back into the sunlight, ending totality and beginning a partial eclipse again.
9. When the entire Moon escapes the umbra, only the last, penumbral dimming remains. After some time, nothing unusual remains.