by During the next two weeks, there will be two eclipses on the astronomical slip. The main event will be, of course The Great North American Eclipse on April 8th which will stretch from the Pacific coast of Mexico, on to Texas and across the southern and eastern parts of the United States and Atlantic Canada, before ending up over the northern Atlantic Ocean.
But two weeks before the total solar eclipse, during the overnight hours of March 24-25, it will be the moon’s turn to go under eclipse; preliminary work on a big event coming our way in early April. The last full moon before the total solar eclipse, the March Worm Moon, will quietly slip into Earth’s outer shadow, known as the penumbra.
The continents of North and South America are in the best position to see this lunar eclipse, as it occurs high in the sky and moves from the night of March 24th to March 25th. The moon will take 4 hours and 40 minutes to slide across the paint. outer edge (penumbra) of the shadow of the Earth, never reaching the dark shadow of the umbra.
Related: Full Moon March 2024: Waning Worm Moon
Read more: Lunar eclipses 2024: When, where and how to see them
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Looking for a telescope to see the features of the full Worm Moon up close? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top choice in our best beginners telescope guide. Don’t forget a moon filter!
Of course, there is a relationship between the moon and the solar eclipses. A solar eclipse can only occur when the moon is at the node of its orbit. (The nodes are the two points where the path of the moon on the sky crosses the path of the sun, known as the ecliptic). During the solar eclipse on April 8, the moon will cross the ecliptic from south to north. But half an orbit earlier, on March 24-25, the moon will cross the other node from north to south, coming across the Earth’s shadow. The time frame when this geometry can allow eclipses to occur is called “eclipse season” and in this case it runs from March 16th to April 23rd. All of this is a perfect example of how eclipse season works.
In this particular case The moon will go very deep into the penumbra. In fact, at the moment of deepest phase/greatest eclipse (7:12 UT) the penumbra will reach 95.8 percent across the lunar disk. Put another way, the lowest limb of the moon will be 282 miles (453 km) away from the invisible edge of Earth’s shadow.
However, total eclipses are relatively subtle events that are usually difficult to detect; the shade is pale. In fact, the first contact with the penumbral shadow is all but impossible to detect. But a little over an hour later, those with really sharp vision may be able to detect a very slight shadowing on the lower left arm of the moon.
About half an hour on each side of the time of maximum eclipse, at least 70 percent of the moon’s diameter will be immersed in shadow; a particular attenuation of light corresponding to a “smeared” or “dirty” appearance; then a slight grayness on the lower part of the moon should be quite plain to see.
Admittedly, however, a rather unfortunate event.
The schedule
Our timeline below gives the moments for the main eclipse events for five time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific and Hawaii. All times refer to the calendar date of March 25, except when accompanied by an asterisk
in which case the calendar date is March 24.
For the eastern US, maximum darkness occurs about a few hours before dawn on March 25. Along the West Coast, it will be just after midnight, and for Alaska and Hawaii it will be during the mid to late afternoon. hour on Sunday, March 24.
The idiot eclipse from the moon
It might be easier to understand why the Earth’s penumbra is so weak, by imagining being on the moon when Monday’s event takes place. An astronaut on the moon will see during this time the eclipse of the sun, but it would depend on the place on the moon where our hypothetical moon is located.
Near the upper limb of the moon is the region known as Mare Frigoris – “Sea of Cold.” From here, the silhouette of the Earth will appear to take a small nick from the top of the sun; hardly enough to cause any significant diminution of light on the surrounding lunar landscape. That’s why the upper part of the full moon will usually appear to be shining.
By contrast, as seen from Tycho, the spectacular lunar impact crater whose rays appear like sunflowers on the south side of the Moon, Earth will appear to cover more than nine-tenths of the diameter of the sun; therefore, the brilliant sunlight of the surrounding lunar landscape will become much more striking.
the moon appears slightly darker as the earth’s shadow passes over it
Tourist attraction Another lunar eclipse is scheduled for later this summer. On the evening of September 17,the moon will slide through the lower part of the Earth’s shadow
, with its upper limb giving a glancing blow to Earth’s dark umbral shadow. At the greatest eclipse, 8.5 percent of the moon’s diameter will be within the umbra, suggesting that the top of the moon is slightly toothy. Next year, on the night of March 13-14, 2025, the moon will set Total eclipse. For 65 minutes,the moon will be completely immersed in the Earth’s shadow
; always the most interesting shows, and usually, colorful. Once again, the Americans will have a ringside seat, with all the action taking place high in the late winter sky; during predawe hours in the East and around midnight in the West.
Mark your calendars!
If you’re interested in photographing the partial lunar eclipse of the Full Worm Moon, check out our helpful guide on how to photograph the moon for the best tips and tricks for moon photography. We also have guides to the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography if you need to gear up for this or other celestial events. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’sHayden Planetarium . He writes about astronomy forFree natural history magazine, the The Farmers’ Almanac
