The moon will take on a dramatic appearance Thursday night. A near-total lunar eclipse will make it look blood red.
Cincinnati Observatory Astronomer Wes Ryle says about 96% of the moon’s surface will be covered in the Earth's shadow.
“Some of the light of the sun is actually passing through our atmosphere and our atmosphere acts like a big lens — it actually bends light back onto the moon’s surface,” he says. “That red color comes from the dust and the small particles that are in our atmosphere. It’s the same reason that sunsets and sunrises have that kind of reddish hue.”
Ryle says one way to think about it is “you’re getting the light of all the sunrises and sunsets happening around the earth refracted back onto the moon’s surface.”
The shadow should become visible around 10:30 p.m., with the peak around 12:15 a.m.
Ryle says lunar eclipses happen about twice a year for someone on the planet. The next one that will be visible in Cincinnati is in 2028.
“But that’s only going to take a tiny little chunk out of the moon, it’s not going to be that big of an event. The next total lunar eclipse visible for us here in Cincinnati isn’t going to be until June of 2029,” he adds.
All you really need to view the lunar eclipse is clear skies, but the observatory will have its telescopes out for a watch party.
“We find that people like to be at the observatory when these kind of special events are happening,” he says. “It’s great to be in a community of people that really loves astronomy.”
He says a telescope allows you to see the contrast of light and dark on the moon’s craters as the shadow moves across the face.
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