"Beaver Blood Moon" Is The Final Opportunity To View A Total Lunar Eclipse Until 2025!

The 2nd  total lunar eclipse of 2022 will be visible to skywatchers on November 8. Parts of the phenomenon will be seen in the eastern hemisphere from eastern Asia to Australia to the Pacific to North America. This past May saw the most recent total lunar eclipse.

According to Alphonse Sterling, a NASA astronomer based out of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, a total lunar eclipse occurs once every 1.5 years on average. There have been several possibilities to witness lunar eclipses this year. Still, the next total lunar eclipse won't happen until 2025, making the one happening in November this year's best bet.

The Moon moves from right to left during a total lunar eclipse, giving a time-stamped eclipse diagram. The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio created this image.

When Earth's shadow (the umbra) completely covers the Moon, we see a total eclipse of the Moon. The deepest section of Earth's shadow is called the umbra, which fully blocks the Sun's light. The outermost part of Earth's shadow is called the penumbra, and it only partially blocks the Sun's light.

The Moon takes on a crimson tint when it enters the umbra. Because of this, lunar eclipses have earned the nickname "Blood Moons." This is a "Beaver Blood Moon," so named because the full Moon in November is known as the Beaver Moon (also known as the Frost, Frosty Moon, or the Snow Moon).

At the time of a total lunar eclipse, the Moon and the Sun are in opposing positions in the sky. Given that the Moon makes a full circle of the Earth every 27 days, many have puzzled over why lunar eclipses don't occur every month. The inclination of the Moon's orbit relative to Earth's orbit around the Sun causes the Moon to pass above or below Earth's shadow frequently. Only when the Moon's orbit lines up with Earth's and the Sun's can there be a total lunar eclipse.

On November 19, 2021, just before sunrise, a nearly total eclipse of the full "Beaver Moon" was caught over New Orleans. It was the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years, lasting 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 24 seconds at 97% coverage. Photo via NASA's Michoud Assembly Center.

In the Americas, things will get going on November 8 at some ungodly hour. At 3:09 am CST, the partial eclipse will start, totality occurring between 4:16 and 5:42 am. After that, the partial phase will resume at 6:49 am. If you happen to be in the eastern United States, you'll miss the last portion of the eclipse because the Moon will have set during or just after totality.

The coloration of the Moon, which turns red during the totality of a lunar eclipse, is another distinguishing element of such an event. Light from the Sun is refracted, filtered, and scattered by the Earth's atmosphere, producing a reddish hue. The scattering is known as Rayleigh scattering, after the 19th-century British physicist Lord Rayleigh.

This is a map of the areas that can view the lunar eclipse on November 8, 2022. The limits of the visible region during eclipse contact times are shown as contours. Mid-eclipse, as seen on the map, occurs at a sublunar longitude of 168°57'W. The NASA Scientific Visualization Studio created this image.

Sunsets and sunrises seem red because of Rayleigh scattering as well. Because of their different wavelengths, red and blue light from the Sun are scattered in different ways when they hit with gases in Earth's atmosphere. Some of this red light is refracted, or bent, by Earth's atmosphere, casting a spectral red glow on the Moon. Atmospheric circumstances brought on by volcanic eruptions, fires, and dust storms can affect the degree to which a fully obscured Moon appears red.

What does Earth appear from the Moon's vantage point during a lunar eclipse? Astrophysicist at Marshall University, Mitzi Adams, claims that during a total lunar eclipse, astronauts on the Moon will perceive a crimson ring around a silhouetted Earth. It's exciting to think about how Earthlings may experience astronomical occurrences away from their home planet as NASA strives to create a permanent human presence on the Moon with the Artemis program.

Contrary to solar eclipses, observing a lunar eclipse does not necessitate special eye protection (which occurs during the daytime). With binoculars or a telescope, the lunar eclipse can be observed with the naked eye.

According to Sterling, folks who observe a total solar eclipse with friends or family can have a lot of fun by keeping track of who notices the totality's crimson color first and how it develops throughout the eclipse.

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