NASA Announces Deep 'Blood Moon' Partial Lunar Eclipse Visible Across Africa and the Americas

 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a deep partial lunar eclipse visible across Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The celestial phenomenon, popularly dubbed a "Blood Moon," will see over 96 percent of the Moon's surface shrouded in Earth’s dark umbral shadow, turning the lunar disk a striking coppery-red hue.  

According to NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, while technically classified as a partial eclipse because a thin northern edge remains in direct sunlight, the event is one of the deepest partial eclipses in years, bringing the Moon exceptionally close to totality.  

The celestial event will unfold across several hours, with timing varying by local time zones:  

Penumbral Start (9:23 PM ET): The eclipse begins as the Moon enters the outer, lighter portion of Earth’s shadow (the penumbra).  

Partial Eclipse Begins (10:33 PM ET / 10:34 PM ET): Earth's darker central shadow (the umbra) starts taking a visible "bite" out of the lunar disk.  

Peak Eclipse (12:12 AM ET): The eclipse reaches maximum coverage, with 96.3 percent of the lunar surface enveloped in shadow, producing the characteristic reddish "Blood Moon" glow as scattered sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere.  

Conclusion (3:01 AM ET): The Moon completely exits the outer edge of Earth’s penumbral shadow, marking the end of the event.  

Observers in North and South America are positioned to witness the entire duration of the eclipse. In Western Africa and Europe, the peak stages will be visible during the pre-dawn hours before moonset.  

A "Blood Moon" occurs when Earth aligns directly between the Sun and the Moon. As sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, shorter blue wavelengths scatter, while longer red wavelengths refract and project onto the lunar surface. NASA astronomers describe the phenomenon as projecting all of the world's sunrises and sunsets simultaneously onto the Moon.  

Unlike solar eclipses, astronomical experts confirm that lunar eclipses are entirely safe to view with the naked eye, requiring no special protective glasses or equipment.