Attention, Pretoria residents! Prepare for a spectacular night sky event this Tuesday, as the full moon aligns with a supermoon, blood moon, and partial lunar eclipse.
This rare cosmic occurrence promises an unforgettable celestial display right over our city.
According to a report by Star Walk, the whole eclipse will last for 4 hours and 6 minutes; the partial eclipse (when the Moon is in the Earth’s dark shadow) will last for only 1 hour and 3 minutes.
It also stated that a lunar eclipse is visible from anywhere in the night part of the world.
“Some locations will see the entire eclipse, while others will see only part of it, as the Moon rises later or sets earlier there.
“The entire eclipse will be visible over western parts of Africa and Europe, south and eastern North America, all of South America, and parts of Antarctica.
“At least part of the eclipse will be visible from all of Europe, Africa, North America, South America, much of Asia, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic, and Antarctica.”
NASA explains that Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth and the moon are lined up so that Earth casts its shadow on our natural satellite.
“This lunar eclipse will be only a slight one, with just the top 8.7% of the moon covered by the darkest part of Earth’s shadow. Still, a lunar eclipse is a celestial spectacle worth watching any time it occurs.”
For the Eastern time zone of the U.S., the eclipse will begin around 8:40 p.m. EDT on Sept. 17 and will peak around 10:44 p.m. EDT. Europe and Africa, meanwhile, will see the eclipse during the pre-dawn hours on Sept. 18.
If you can’t watch the eclipse in person for any reason, here is a livestream available online for you to take in the Super Harvest Moon lunar eclipse.
Also read: Don’t suffer in silence: How Pretoria teens can get help for suicidal thoughts
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