A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said.
The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface.
The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Astronomical Museum
Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon of the year, the museum said the eclipse would begin at about 11pm on Sunday, as the moon enters the Earth’s partial shadow.
The eclipse would start at 12:27am on Monday next week, when the moon begins entering the Earth’s full shadow. The period of totality, when the moon is completely in the Earth’s shadow and appears dark red, would last from 1:31am to 2:53am.
It would be the first total lunar eclipse fully visible from Taiwan since 2018, the museum said, recommending that stargazers find a location with an unobstructed view of the southwestern sky.
In addition to the “blood moon,” a few other celestial treats await observers, the museum said.
The Beehive Cluster, also known as Praesepe, and Venus are to appear together in the night sky today, and on Sept. 13, the last quarter moon would be visible near the Pleiades star cluster (Messier 45), also known as the Seven Sisters, it said.
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