Lunar Eclipse 2021 – live: ‘Longest eclipse in 580 years’ coinciding with ‘blood’ Beaver Moon begins

The Moon is about to fall into the Earth’s shadow for the longest duration since the 15th Century, offering stargazers a unique opportunity to observe a lunar eclipse.

The celestial spectacle coincides with the Full Moon, traditionally known as the Beaver Moon by Native American tribes, and will be visible across large parts of the globe, including North America and partially in the UK.

The near-total eclipse will peak for 3 hours and 28 minutes on the night of the 18-19 November, beginning at 9.02am GMT.

The full passing of the Full Moon – which itself peaks at 8.57am GMT – through Earth’s shadow will last more than six hours.

The whole event will be visible across the US but the arrival of the Sun on Friday morning will prevent people in the UK from seeing the latter half of it.

You can follow all the latest Moon action right here.

Read More

Lunar eclipse of Beaver ‘blood’ Moon will be longest in 580 years

What makes a ‘blood moon’ red and is it dangerous to look at it?

Key points

• What time will the lunar eclipse take place?

• How to see the lunar eclipse across the world

07:49 , Vishwam Sankaran

Partial lunar eclipse watch live

The Moon has begun to enter the Earth’s umbra – the inner part of the Earth’s shadow – and the partial eclipse has begun.

This would begin to look like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk, and a portion of the Moon inside the umbra has started appearing very dark.

You can watch the eclipse live on Griffith Observatory’s channel

The peak of the eclipse would begin around 3:45 AM ET till about 4:20 AM ET, according to Nasa.

06:05 , Vishwam Sankaran

What astronomers on the moon would hypothetically see during a lunar eclipse

On 19 November, Earth would pass between the Sun and the Moon and cause a near-total lunar eclipse. About 99.1% of the moon will pass into the inner part of the Earth’s shadow – the umbra.

This would be the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years.

Previous simulations by Nasa have revealed how astronomers on the moon would hypothetically view the occurrence of a total lunar eclipse.

Since during a lunar eclipse the Earth filters the Sun’s light onto the Moon, our planet is essentially projecting thousands of sunrises and sunsets onto the lunar surface.

Since lunar eclipses substantially cool down the Moon, studying these changes can help scientists develop better equipment for future missions and experiments that can better survive extreme changes in temperatures.

Nasa is planning to send astronauts to the Moon in 2025 at the earliest as part of the Artemis mission, and there are two lunar eclipses predicted for the year.

05:31 , Vishwam Sankaran

What scientists have learned from lunar eclipses

The lunar eclipse is one of the many light-and-shadow tricks in the solar system that has helped guide humanity’s understanding of the cosmos for several millennia.

Aristotle was one of the first to argue that the Earth was spherical based on the observation that the shadow of the Earth falling on the moon is always circular in shape.

Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus of Nicaea discovered that the positions of constellations in the night sky changed in a 26,000-year cycle, by studying eclipses.

Records kept of ancient solar and lunar eclipses – from the time when such notes were made in clay tablets – have more recently enabled modern astronomers to discover that the speed at which Earth spins on its axis has slowed by 1.8 milliseconds per day over the course of a century.

Lunar eclipses also offer scientists the opportunity to study what happens when the surface of the moon is devoid of sunlight and cools quickly.

Instruments aboard Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) can record how quickly specific areas on the moon cool off during an eclipse. Since the drop in temperature is dependent on several factors such as how rocky the lunar surface is, how densely packed the soil is and its mineral composition, this kind of analysis during a lunar eclipse sheds more light on the moon’s regolith.

04:43 , Vishwam Sankaran

Best time to take photographs

Since the moon is in its apogee, it would appear small, but during the peak of the eclipse it would turn red.

This would be around 4:03 AM ET, which is the best time to see the red colour.

However, the Moon may begin to appear red even a few minutes earlier – starting from about 3:45 AM ET – when more than 95 per cent of the Moon’s disk would be in the Earth’s inner shadow.

The red colour might be easier to see in binoculars or a telescope than with the naked eye.

Using a camera on a tripod with exposures of several seconds can bring out the colour, says Nasa in its lunar photography guide.

04:09 , Vishwam Sankaran

Why this is the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years

The six-hour-long eclipse on 19 November would be the longest lunar eclipse to occur within a span of 1,000 years.

During the eclipse, the Moon will pass through both the inner and outer portions of the Earth’s shadow.

The outer shadow will be cast on the Moon for about 6 hours and 1 minute, while the umbral eclipse – when the inner shadow will be cast – will last for about 3 hours and 28 minutes.

The last time such a lengthy lunar eclipse took place was on 18 February, 1440, and the next one will not be until 8 February 8, 2669.

The extended duration of the eclipse is because the Moon is currently near its apogee – the furthest distance along its orbit from the Earth – where it travels more slowly.

Hence, the Moon moves more slowly through the Earth’s shadow.

And since the eclipse is almost-total, the Moon spends much longer time in the Earth’s inner shadow than it would in a more-partial eclipse.

03:44 , Vishwam Sankaran

Why the moon appears red during a lunar eclipse

The phenomenon is called Rayleigh scattering, and it is what makes the sky blue and sunsets red.

It also causes the Moon to turn red during a lunar eclipse.

Different colours of light have different wavelengths.

Since blue light has a shorter wavelength, it gets easily scattered in the Earth’s atmosphere than red light.

This is why the sky is mostly blue when the Sun is overhead.

But when it is setting, sunlight has to travel farther before reaching our eyes, passing through more of the atmosphere – during which the blue light scatters away, and red, orange, and yellow light pass through.

Since during a lunar eclipse, the only sunlight reaching the Moon passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, the blue light scatters away, making the moon appear red.

03:26 , Vishwam Sankaran

Best viewing of partial lunar eclipse at 4:03 AM EST

During a lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow.

While in a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow – the umbra – in the partial eclipse, up to about 99 per cent of the Moon’s disk will be within Earth’s umbra.

The best viewing times is around the peak of the eclipse on 19 November at 9:03 UTC/4:03 AM EST/1:03 AM PST.

The eclipse would be visible in all of North America, and parts of South America, Polynesia, eastern Australia, and northeastern Asia.

This would be the longest partial lunar eclipse since 18 February, 1440, spanning 3 hours, 28 minutes, 46 seconds.

It would remain the longest such eclipse for another 648 years until 8 February, 2669.

You can find more information on the eclipse and viewing times here.

A blood moon prophecy

00:29 , Io Dodds

According to some Christians, the Bible predicts that a series blood moons has already heralded the end of the world in 2014-15.

John Hagee, a Texas megachurch pastor in Texas, was among several evangelical leaders to assign eschatological significance to a sequence of four lunar eclipses within 18 months, known to astronomers as a tetrad, that all coincided with Jewish holidays.

Mr Hagee linked that event to passages in the Old Testament’s Book of Joel and the New Testament’s Book of Acts, which promise that “the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood”.

“I believe that the heavens are God’s billboard; that he has been sending signals to Planet Earth but we just have not been picking them up,” said Mr Hagee in a sermon.

However, tetrads are not particularly rare, with eight scheduled to occur between 2015 and 2100. Nor is it unusual for lunar eclipses to fall on a Jewish festival, since the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar and Passover is always a full moon.

According to Earth and Sky magazine, these two things have combined eight times since the start of the Gregorian calendar in 0 AD. The 20th century saw two tetrads falling on Jewish festivals, in 1949-50 and 1967-68.

How ancient civilisations viewed the blood moon

Thursday 18 November 2021 23:46 , Io Dodds

Throughout history, humans have come up with stories to explain why blood moons happen, with many attributing malice to the event.

The Inca supposedly believed that a celestial jaguar was attacking and trying to eat the moon, so they would shake spears and make noise at it to drive it away. Or so at least claimed the Spanish colonists – not exactly an unjaundiced source.

In ancient Mesopotamia, the blood moon was thought to represent a cosmic attack on the king. Like a modern-day dictator using lookalikes to dodge assassination, they would put a surrogate king in place ahead of time while the real king pretended to be an ordinary citizen.

Others have a kinder view. One myth among the Batammaliba people of Togo and Benin says that lunar eclipses are a time of conflict between the sun and the moon, and that humans must encourage the pair to resolve their differences by settling our own disputes on Earth.

Another story told by the Luiseño tribe of Native Americans, from what is now California, is that the moon is sick and humans must sing chants and prayers to help it get well.

What time is the eclipse around the world?

Thursday 18 November 2021 22:17 , Io Dodds

Here is the full schedule for the eclipse for key time zones where it will be visible, according to former Nasa astrophysicist and eclipse photographer Fred Espenak.

First will come the opening of the eclipse, during which the Earth’s shadow slowly falls over the moon. That will begin at:

• UK (UTC-0): 7.18am

• Eastern US (UTC-5): 2.18am

• US west coast (UTC-8): 11.18pm

• New Zealand (UTC+13): 8.18pm

• Eastern Australia (UTC+11): 6.18pm

• West Australia and China (UTC+8): 3:18pm

Then there will be a moment where the eclipse is at its fullest:

• UK: 9.02am to 9.03am

• Eastern US: 4.02am to 4.03am

• US west coast: 1.02am to 1.03am

• New Zealand: 10.02 pm to 10.03pm

• Eastern Australia: 8.02pm to 8.03pm

• West Australia and China: 5.02pm to 5.03pm

Finally the eclipse will wane and the shadow will pass, ending at:

• UK: 10.47am

• Eastern US: 5.47am

• US west coast: 2.47am

• New Zealand: 11.47pm

• Eastern Australia: 9.47pm

• West Australia and China: 6.47pm

Full Moon will appear ‘blood’ red during lunar eclipse

Thursday 18 November 2021 20:33 , Anthony Cuthbertson

An effect known as Rayleigh Scattering means the Moon will appear red during the lunar eclipse.

It’s all to do with the way the light as to pass through the Earth’s atmosphere before it reaches the Moon on the other side of the Sun, similar to the way the sky changes colour during the sunrise and sunset. It has earned November’s full moon the double moniker of Beaver and Blood.

You can read more about the phenomenon, with explanations from US space agency Nasa, right here:

Lunar eclipse of full moon this week will be longest in 580 years

Thursday 18 November 2021 20:57 , Io Dodds

For almost three and a half hours on 18 and 19 November, sky-watchers in North America, South America, East Asia and Australasia will see the moon turn red.

Feared and revered by ancient peoples across the world, this strange sight is the result of a partial lunar eclipse, in which the full moon passes out of the sun’s rays and into the shadow cast by the Earth.

It will be the longest such event since 1440, and there won’t be another as long until 2669. In New Zealand, it is the first one visible since 1212.

So what actually is a blood moon? And what makes it red? All your questions answered...

What makes a ‘blood moon’ red and is it dangerous to look at it?

Where will the 2021 lunar eclipse be visible?

Thursday 18 November 2021 20:00 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The lunar eclipse will be visible across large parts of the Earth, with those in North and South America best placed to view it.

This excellent eclipse map from TimeAndDate shows how it will pass from Western Europe and Africa, right across the Americas, before finishing up in East Asia and Australasia. As you can see, the UK is only just in the eclipse path, and it won’t be there for long before the Sun swallows it up.

What time does the lunar eclipse start?

Thursday 18 November 2021 17:59 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Tonight’s lunar eclipse will actually begin early tomorrow morning, starting at 7.18am GMT on 19 November, and will last for more than six hours.

The actual peak of the eclipse, which starts at 9.02am, will last for 3 hours and 28 minutes.

With the sunrise in the UK taking place at 7,26am on Friday, the lunar eclipse will not be visible for long. In the US, however, it will be visible for its entirety, weather permitting.

Hello and welcome...

Thursday 18 November 2021 16:59 , Anthony Cuthbertson

to The Independent’s live coverage of the second lunar eclipse of 2021 – and the longest in more than half a millennia.

We’ll have all the latest images and updates of the Moon’s movements, as well as info on where best to see the celestial spectacle.