Tonight, Aussies will be treated to a lunar eclipse, but sadly, it’ll be the last lunar eclipse of the entire year for Australian viewing.
According to Time and Date, tonight’s ‘penumbral’ lunar eclipse will be the last viewing of the cosmic event before March 2025. The next lunar eclipse is tipped for March 13 next year, though between now and then, there’ll be a ‘partial’ lunar eclipse, an ‘almost’ lunar eclipse, and two solar eclipses. However, none of these will be visible down under.
If you’re wondering what a ‘penumbral’ eclipse is, it refers to when the moon moves through the Earth’s penumbra shadow. It’s not a particularly heavy eclipse and may be mistaken for a full moon, though it is very much a cosmic event.
In order for it to occur, the Moon needs to be full, and the Sun, Earth, and Moon must be nearly aligned.
And if you’re able to take it in, you should absolutely take a look up at the sky tonight. Here’s how you can watch it.
How do I watch the lunar eclipse?
Tonight’s lunar eclipse will kick off at 7:07pm AEDT – that’s for Aussies in the ACT, NT, Victoria, and NSW. For SA, that’ll be 7:11pm ACDT, 5:52pm AEST for Queensland, and 8:01pm AWST for Western Australia.
Date and Time predicts that it’ll be visible for about an hour, though notes that it’ll be difficult for Aussies in Perth to see it, and that it won’t be as epic for people in Adelaide and Hobart, if the website’s obscuration graphics are anything to go off. East coast Aussies, this seems to be more for you.
To see the eclipse, ideally, you’ll want to be as high up as can be, with as little light around you as possible (and if you can get out of the city, you’ll want to do this to avoid light pollution). Hopefully, there’s not much cloud cover during the peak of the eclipse, but ultimately, as long as you can see the moon, you should be able to see the eclipse.
Remember to rug up and keep warm. Happy moongazing.
Image: iStock