Astronomy enthusiasts on Tuesday next week are to have a rare view of a full lunar eclipse and a lunar occultation of Uranus, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
People who miss the astronomical events this year would have to wait until Sept. 8, 2025, to see another full lunar eclipse, and April 12, 2038, for the next visible lunar occultation of Uranus, the bureau said.
The process of the total lunar eclipse is to begin at 4:01pm with a penumbral eclipse, when the Earth’s outer shadow starts moving over the moon, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Astronomical Museum
The penumbral eclipse is to be followed by a partial eclipse at 5:09pm, a total eclipse at 6:16pm and a maximum eclipse at 6:59pm, it said.
The total eclipse is to end at 7:42pm, followed by the end of the partial eclipse at 8:49pm and the end of the penumbral eclipse at 9:58pm, the bureau said.
When the penumbral eclipse ends, the Earth’s shadow completely moves away from the moon.
As the moon would not be visible in Taiwan until between 5:02pm and 5:17pm, stargazers would only start seeing the different phases of the total lunar eclipse during or after the partial eclipse, it added.
During the nearly six-hour event, the moon would appear in an uncommon copper-red hue for about 86 minutes, the bureau said.
The dim color is caused by sunlight being refracted from the Earth’s atmosphere, it said.
The lunar occultation of Uranus is to occur between 7:03pm and 7:05pm, it said, adding that the planet is to reappear between 7:46pm and 7:56pm.
When the moon passes in front of Uranus, the planet will be in the umbra area of the Earth’s shadow, the bureau said.
“As such, the beginning and the end of the occultation will all occur on the edge of the moon’s umbra area,” it added.
A total of 228 lunar eclipses are to occur worldwide between 2001 and 2100: 86 full lunar eclipses, 57 partial lunar eclipses and 85 penumbral lunar eclipses, it said.
In Taiwan, 63 total lunar eclipses, 38 partial lunar eclipses and 60 penumbral lunar eclipses can be observed, it said.
In addition to a full lunar eclipse, people in Taiwan can watch a penumbral lunar eclipse and a partial lunar eclipse next year, it said.
Although lunar occultation of planets occurs every year, the phenomenon is only visible in certain regions, the bureau said, adding that some are not observable because they occur during the day.
The last time a lunar occultation of Uranus was visible at night in Taiwan was on Nov. 15, 1999, it said.
“This time, a total lunar eclipse and a lunar occultation of Uranus are to happen on the same night, which is quite rare,” it said.
Bureau data showed that a partial lunar eclipse and a lunar occultation of Uranus occurred on the same night on Oct. 8, 1930, although the process of occultation occurred at the Earth’s penumbral area, not the umbra area.
The bureau recommends using an astronomical telescope to better observe the phenomena.
People can also watch a livestream of the total lunar eclipse from 5pm at the bureau’s Web site at www.cwb.gov.tw, it said.
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