If the weather clears early on Tuesday, March 3, sky watchers across much of the Americas will have the opportunity to admire one of nature’s most beautiful sights. total lunar eclipse.
Total solar eclipses often require a long journey to reach totality. month You can usually observe it from your own backyard. The Moon’s passage through Earth’s shadow is equally visible from all locations within the hemisphere where the Moon is above the horizon. This event prioritizes location Near and around the Pacific Rim. For North America, locations within the Eastern time zone are: look at the moon All stages are set during the early light of dawn. Locations further west will be able to catch the moon emerging from Earth’s shadow as it sets, and locations further west will be able to see the eclipse from beginning to end. Hawaiians will see the moon nearly overhead when totality occurs in the hours after midnight. Meanwhile, central Asia and western Australia will see the moon emerge from Earth’s dark shadow during local evening hours. Eastern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and much of Japan and eastern Siberia can all be seen during convenient evening hours.
Where is the moon?
It’s never too early to start preparing to see next month’s total lunar eclipse. One thing to consider is the moon’s position in the sky during the eclipse. As mentioned earlier, this is an important factor for those living in the eastern United States and Canada, as everyone is already transitioning as the Moon approaches its setting. Do tall trees or nearby buildings block your view of the moon?
By looking for the moon on Wednesday, February 4th, you can get a very good idea of where it will be in the sky during the eclipse. Early that morning, the moon, two and a half days past full moon, will be very close to that area of the sky for the March 3 solar eclipse. But on February 4th, instead of looking for the moon at the specified time on March 3rd, you should look for the moon 2 hours and 8 minutes later.
For observers in Salt Lake City, for example, on March 3, the moon begins to enter a dark central shadow. earth (called the umbra) 2:49 a.m. Mountain Time. At that moment, the moon will be 44 degrees above the southwest horizon. It is almost half way up in the sky.
Now, on Wednesday, February 4th, 2:49 a.m., add 2 hours and 8 minutes to 4:57 a.m. At that time of the morning, we will be able to estimate with great accuracy where the moon will be in the sky at the start of the eclipse as seen from Salt Lake City.
This method is especially useful for Easterners who want to roughly determine where the moon will be relative to the western horizon (and local landmarks) as it sets during a total solar eclipse. The table below details the positions where the Moon will appear in the sky during the different stages of the solar eclipse on March 3rd and the corresponding position of the Moon on February 4th.
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
EST |
Central Standard Time |
MST |
PST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
beginning of solar eclipse |
6:57am |
5:57am |
4:57am |
3:57am |
|
The beginning of totality |
8:11am |
7:11am |
6:11am |
5:11am |
|
mid-eclipse |
8:41am |
7:41am |
6:41am |
5:41am |
|
the end of perfection |
9:10am |
8:10am |
7:10am |
6:10am |
|
end of solar eclipse |
can’t see |
9:25am |
8:25am |
7:25am |
If you live in the Eastern time zone, keep in mind that the farther west you go, the higher the moon will appear in the sky, and the longer you can view the total moon before it sets. As an example, in Portland, Maine, the moon sets just one minute after totality begins. However, from Indianapolis, Indiana, Indiana also uses Eastern Standard Time, but is 860 miles (1,380 km) to the west. The entire totality is visible and the Moon does not set until 5 minutes after the totality ends.
Space.com provides details. lunar eclipse It will be released in the next few weeks, so please look forward to it!