TOTAL (LUNAR) ECLIPSE OF THE HEART
Total eclipse of 2021’s closest supermoon on May 26
Posted by Bruce McClure | May 25, 2021
The last total eclipse of the moon was more than 2 years ago on January 21, 2019. Tom Wildoner captured this image of it from Weatherly, Pennsylvania. During a total lunar eclipse, at totality or mid-eclipse, the moon turns blood red. Thank you, Tom!
On May 26, 2021, the full moon will sweep through the Earth’s dark umbral shadow, creating a total eclipse of the moon. This May full moon is 2021’s closest (and therefore biggest and brightest) full moon of the year: a supermoon. The eclipse will take place in the early morning hours, before sunrise, for those in western North America and at other times for people elsewhere on the globe. This particular eclipse is also special because the totality, or total phase, is so short-lived, lasting less than 15 minutes.
Total eclipses of supermoons aren’t all that rare. The last total eclipse of a year’s closest full moon happened on September 28, 2015.
Although the totality in the May 26, 2021, eclipse lasts for less than 15 minutes, a partial umbral eclipse precedes and then follows totality by nearly 1 1/2 hours each time. So, from start to finish, the moon takes a little over three hours to pass through the Earth’s dark shadow. Plenty of time to enjoy, especially under a dark sky.
Day and night sides of Earth at mid-eclipse or greatest eclipse (May 26 at 11:19 UTC). The shadow line at left (running through western North and South America) depicts sunrise (moonset) May 26. The shadow at right (running across eastern Asia) represents sunset (moonrise) May 26. You have to be on the nighttime side of Earth to see the totality at mid-eclipse.
Who will see the total eclipse?
As always, you have to be in the right place to see this eclipse. The May 26 eclipse is visible from western North America, southern and far-western South America, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, Australia and southeast Asia.
From the Americas, this eclipse takes place in the early morning hours before sunrise May 26. From the world’s Eastern Hemisphere (New Zealand, Australia and southeast Asia), the eclipse happens in the evening hours after sunset May 26. The worldwide map above helps to explain.
A swath of the Americas to the right (east) of the sunrise line on the worldwide map will miss the total eclipse but can watch a partial umbral eclipse of the moon; whereas a section of Asia to the left (west) of the sunset line will miss the total eclipse but can watch a partial umbral eclipse. The arrows in the worldwide map below show where the umbral eclipse begins in the Americas and where the umbral eclipse ends in Asia. The regions marked U4 to P4 in Asia, and U1 to P1 in the Americas, sit outside the umbral eclipse viewing area. So this outlier region must be content with a faint penumbral eclipse.
One arrow shows where the umbral eclipse begins in the Americas, and the other arrow points to where the umbral eclipse ends in Asia.
Eclipse times in UTC (May 26, 2021)
We give the eclipse times first in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, same as GMT) and then in local time for U.S. time zones:
Partial umbral eclipse begins: 09:45 UTC Total eclipse begins: 11:11 UTC Greatest eclipse: 11:19 UTC Total eclipse ends: 11:26 UTC Partial umbral eclipse ends: 12:52 UTC
Eclipse times for North American time zones:
Eastern Daylight Time (May 26, 2021) Partial umbral eclipse begins: 5:45 a.m. EDT Total eclipse begins: 7:11 a.m. EDT Greatest eclipse: 7:19 a.m. EDT Total eclipse ends: 7:26 a.m. EDT Partial umbral eclipse ends: 8:52 a.m. EDT
Central Daylight Time (May 26, 2021) Partial umbral eclipse begins: 4:45 a.m. CDT Total eclipse begins: 6:11 a.m. CDT Greatest eclipse: 6:19 a.m. CDT Total eclipse ends: 6:26 a.m. CDT Partial umbral eclipse ends: 7:52 a.m. CDT
Mountain Daylight Time (May 26, 2021) Partial umbral eclipse begins: 3:45 a.m. MDT Total eclipse begins: 5:11 a.m. MDT Greatest eclipse: 5:19 a.m. MDT Total eclipse ends: 5:26 a.m. MDT Partial umbral eclipse ends: 6:52 a.m. MDT
Pacific Daylight Time (May 26, 2021) Partial umbral eclipse begins: 2:45 a.m. PDT Total eclipse begins: 4:11 a.m. PDT Greatest eclipse: 4:19 a.m. PDT Total eclipse ends: 4:26 a.m. PDT Partial umbral eclipse ends: 5:52 a.m. PDT
Alaskan Daylight Time (May 26, 2021) Partial umbral eclipse begins: 1:45 a.m. AKDT Total eclipse begins: 3:11 a.m. AKDT Greatest eclipse: 3:19 a.m. AKDT Total eclipse ends: 3:26 a.m. AKDT Partial umbral eclipse ends: 4:52 a.m. AKDT
Hawaiian Standard Time (May 25-26, 2021) Partial umbral eclipse begins: 11:45 p.m. HST (May 25, 2021) Total eclipse begins: 1:11 a.m. HST (May 26, 2021) Greatest eclipse: 1:19 a.m. HST Total eclipse ends: 1:26 a.m. HST Partial umbral eclipse ends: 2:52 a.m. HST
Find out the eclipse times for your part of the world via timeanddate.com, remembering to place your city in the lookup box.
During the May 26, 2021, eclipse, the moon is traveling from west-to-east across the Earth’s shadow. Because the moon doesn’t cross the Earth’s shadow dead center, the northern part of the moon will appear brighter than the southern part, which is more deeply submerged in shadow.
Why such a short total lunar eclipse?
A total lunar eclipse can only happen at full moon, or when the moon is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky. More often than not, however, the full moon passes to the north or to the south of Earth’s dark shadow, and therefore avoids being eclipsed. For instance, last month – on April 27 – the full moon swept to the north of the Earth’s shadow; whereas next month – on June 24 – the full moon will swing to the south of Earth’s shadow.
In fact, the full moons of July, August, September and October 2021 will all travel south of the Earth’s shadow. Finally, the November 2021 full moon will meet up with the Earth’s dark shadow on November 19, 2021. It won’t be a perfect alignment, however, and the November full moon will just miss being totally eclipsed.
Yet, the total lunar eclipse on May 26, 2021, doesn’t make a perfect alignment, either. In fact, this May 2021 full moon doesn’t even cross the center of the Earth’s shadow. This full moon is about as far as it can get from the center of the Earth’s shadow and still be totally eclipsed. That’s why this total eclipse lasts for a short period of time, less than 15 minutes.
The more closely that the full moon’s center aligns with the center of the Earth’s shadow, the deeper and longer the total eclipse. On July 27, 2018, the alignment between full moon and Earth’s shadow was almost perfect, to produce the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century (2001 to 2100). This total eclipse lasted for 1 hour and 43 minutes, or nearly 1 1/2 hours longer than the May 26, 2021, eclipse.
The moon crosses the Earth’s shadow from west to east. The full moon on July 27, 2018, crossed the Earth’s shadow pretty much dead center, to produce the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century (2001 to 2100).
Eclipse timings for the telescope
Bottom line: The total eclipse of 2021’s closest supermoon on May 26 is a rather shallow one. But it’s 2021’s only total lunar eclipse and the first such eclipse to take place since January 21, 2019. It’ll be visible from western North America, southern and far-western South America, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, Australia and southeast Asia. Enjoy it while the time is at hand!
Weather permitting, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles plans to stream live views of the Super Flower Blood Moon on Wednesday (May 26) beginning at 4:45 a.m. EDT (0845 GMT) — just two minutes before the penumbral phase of the lunar eclipse begins. The broadcast will end at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT), shortly after the last partial phase of the eclipse has ended.
Comentários