Beaver Blood Moon - Last lunar eclipse today until 2025 | 5 things to know - Hindustan Times
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Beaver Blood Moon - Last lunar eclipse today until 2025 | 5 things to know

Nov 08, 2022 01:09 PM IST

Unlike solar eclipses, one does not need special eye protection to watch a lunar eclipse, NASA has said. However, a pair of binoculars or a telescope can help one observe the lunar eclipse more clearly.

A rare spectacle of a ‘Beaver Blood Moon’ is all set to take over the night skies of East Asia to North America on Tuesday, provided the weather permit. This will be the last time the Earth, moon and sun align to produce a total lunar eclipse till 2025. The full beaver moon will be visible across North America, the Pacific, Australia and East Asia, while it may also be visible for a short duration in Indian cities including Kolkata and Guwahati. The lunar event will begin around 3:0pm IST. Unlike solar eclipses, one does not need special eye protection to watch a lunar eclipse, NASA has said. However, a pair of binoculars or a telescope can help one observe the lunar eclipse more clearly.

Last Total Lunar Eclipse of 2022(AFP)
Last Total Lunar Eclipse of 2022(AFP)

Here are some facts about the Beaver Blood Moon:

  1. Tuesday's lunar eclipse got its name from Algonquian languages once spoken by Native Americans in the New England territory. It is coinciding with what they called the “Beaver moon” – a moniker for the November full moon adopted by the Old Farmer's Almanac. As the Earth casts a shadow on the full moon, blocking reflection of all direct sunlight to form the total eclipse, it dims the color of the moon, giving it a reddish hue – which is why it is called the “blood moon”.
  2. According to US space agency NASA, total lunar eclipses occur about once every year and a half, on an average but it can vary. The current year, for instance, witnessed two blood moons and the next one is not expected until over two years later.
  3. The total eclipse will be visible to the naked eye in a clear sky across eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific and North America. In Asia and Australia, skywatchers will enjoy the spectacle during the evening moonrise, whereas the lunar event will play out for those in North America in the early morning hours before the moon sets.
  4. In India, on the other hand, the eclipse is expected to be visible in some eastern cities like Kolkata and Guwahati during the moonrise, if the skies are clear. For other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Bengaluru, the total eclipse will have ended till the moon rises but it may be visible partially for a short duration.
  5. While the entire eclipse unfolds over a period of roughly six hours, the main phase will take place over a period of 90 minutes. On the West Coast of the United States, the whole display will run from 12:01am PST to just before 6 am, with the total eclipse peaking at 3am.

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