A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it.
There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says.
Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Astronomical Museum
The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said.
It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would be completely within the Earth’s shadow, it said, adding that it would take on a reddish hue often called a “blood moon.”
The full eclipse is expected to last just under an hour, the museum said.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow that temporarily darkens the moon. The moon would not be fully hidden, as sunlight scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere falls on its surface, giving it a reddish glow.
There would also be an annular solar eclipse tomorrow, visible only from remote parts of Antartica, and a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12 that can be seen from parts of the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
A partial lunar eclipse would occur on Aug. 28, but it would not be as prominent as next month’s total eclipse.
The museum also highlighted several major meteor showers that would offer good viewing opportunities this year.
Among them are the Perseids — expected to peak on Aug. 13, with up to 100 meteors per hour under dark skies — and the Geminids, forecast to reach peak activity on Dec. 14 with up to 150 meteors per hour, the museum said.
Conditions for the showers are expected to be favorable for viewing, it added.
Other showers worth watching include the Lyrids on April 23, the Eta Aquariids on May 6, the Southern Delta Aquariids on July 31 and the Orionids on Oct. 21, the museum said.
The museum advised skywatchers to seek out locations with minimal light pollution and wide, unobstructed scenes of the sky to get the best views of these celestial phenomena.
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