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In March 2022, a worm moon will loom over Moscow. The 2024 Worm Moon will feature a penumbral lunar eclipse, in which the outer edge of Earth’s shadow will be reflected in the moon, making the glowing orb appear slightly darker than normal.
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On Monday, a glowing insect moon will light up the sky and provide a celestial performance for early morning goers: a penumbral lunar eclipse.
The full moon in March is called the worm moon. farmers yearbook It peaks at 3 a.m. ET because it’s close to the spring equinox.
Since 12:53 a.m. ET a few hours ago, According to EarthSkythe Moon will be almost perfectly aligned with the Sun and Earth, and the outer edge of Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra, will be projected onto a glowing sphere.
Chaidir Mahiddin/AFP/Getty Images
A penumbral lunar eclipse in Banda Aceh, Indonesia in 2023 made the moon appear slightly darker. Monday, the month’s event begins at 12:53 a.m. ET.
The largest solar eclipse will occur when 3:12am. ET said it will be a time when the moon will appear slightly darker than usual. Dr. Shannon Schmolldirector of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.
“That would result in almost a gradient of darkness from one side of the moon to the other. It wouldn’t be a very dramatic change in what we see on the moon,” Schmol said. Told. “But as you sit there and look at it, you might notice slight changes in brightness.”
Named by Native American tribes after the beetle larvae and other creatures that emerge from hibernation in the spring, the worm moon can be seen by everyone around the world because it looks like a full moon. for a few days.
However, a penumbral lunar eclipse can only be seen by people on Earth. night side of the earth At the time of the event, including Europe, North Asia, East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, and South America. According to EarthSky, the lunar eclipse will end at 5:33 a.m. ET.
The penumbral eclipse will occur about two weeks before a total solar eclipse that will cross Mexico, the United States, and Canada on April 8th. Lunar and solar eclipses always occur in pairs because of the period when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned, Schmol said. . During this penumbral lunar eclipse, the full moon is caught in the Earth’s shadow, but the moon’s next new moon phase provides the necessary conditions for a solar eclipse. At this time, the moon is between the sun and the earth, obscuring the earth’s surface. Sun from the view.
“Eclipse season” is a period of approximately 35 days that occurs near the vernal equinox every six months. When the nearly perfect alignment of the three celestial bodies necessary for a solar eclipse occurs, According to NASA.
Schmol said that because the moon’s orbit is tilted about 5 degrees, a lunar eclipse does not occur every month during a full moon, so for most full moons, Earth’s shadow will be either directly below or directly above the moon.
A penumbral eclipse is not as dramatic as a total lunar eclipse, where the moon appears an eerie red, but there is no special equipment needed to observe a lunar eclipse, such as a telescope, which is required for a solar eclipse, and a lunar eclipse is possible. Schmoll said. To see with the naked eye.
“When the moon is occurring, just being outdoors where the moon is clearly visible is sufficient,” Schmol added. “(Eclipses) are always a good excuse to get out and look at the sky and understand where we are in the universe and what we can observe from our planet.”
solar and lunar eclipses
The most anticipated of the four solar eclipse events that will occur in 2024 is Total solar eclipse on April 8th, an annular solar eclipse will occur in parts of South America on October 2nd. This type of solar eclipse is similar to a total solar eclipse, but because the moon is at the furthest point from Earth in its orbit, it cannot completely block the sun. Instead, in an annular solar eclipse, the sun’s fiery light surrounds the moon’s shadow, forming a “ring of fire” in the sky.
Meanwhile, a partial lunar eclipse, in which the Earth moves between the sun and the full moon without being perfectly aligned, will be visible across Europe and much of Asia, Africa, North America, and South America from September 17th to 18th.
check date and time website Find out when each of these eclipses will appear.
According to EarthSky, of the 12 full moons in 2024, the lunar events in September and October will be considered supermoons.
Definitions of a supermoon vary, but the term generally refers to a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal and therefore appears larger and brighter in the night sky. Some astronomers say that this phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 90% of its perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit.
The remaining full moons for 2024 are:
• April 23rd: Pink Moon
• May 23rd: Flower Moon
• June 21st: Strawberry Moon
• July 21st: Back Moon
• August 19: Sturgeon Moon
• September 17th: Harvest Moon
• October 17: Hunter’s Moon
• November 15th: Beaver Moon
• December 15th: Cold Moon
According to , skygazers can expect a large number of meteor showers this year. American Meteor Society. Here are the dates when meteor showers are expected to peak this year:
• Lyrids: April 21st-22nd
• Aquarius Eta: May 4th-5th
• Southern Aquarius Delta: July 29th-30th
• Alpha Capricorn: July 30-31
• Perseid meteor shower: August 11th-12th
• Draconid meteor shower: October 7th to 8th
• Orionid meteor shower: October 20th-21st
• Southern Taurus: November 4th to 5th
• Northern Taurus: November 11th-12th
• Leonid meteor shower: November 17th to 18th
• Geminid meteor shower: December 13th-14th
• Urinidae: December 21st-22nd
