A beautiful and rare phenomenon will grace the sky between this Sunday night (15), from 11:27 pm, and early Monday morning (16). It will be a Blood Moon “triply special for Brazil”, said astronomer Josina Nascimento, from the National Observatory. The best news is that the celestial event will be clearly visible from all over Brazil.
The event will last just over three hours, ending at 2:55 am. “But the maximum point, when the Moon will be completely covered by the Earth’s shadow, will be exactly at 1:11 am, Brasília time,” Josina told Brazil Agency.
“The great advantage of this eclipse, which I call triple total, is that, in addition to being a total eclipse of the moon, it will be fully visible throughout Brazil, from North to South; from East to West. The whole of Brazil will see the eclipse from start to finish, in all its phases, in the penumbral, partial, and total sequence, and then returning to partial and penumbral”, explained Josina.
“Another advantage is that the Moon will be very high in the sky, far from the horizon, very easy to see. Now it’s just a case of hoping the weather turns out to be good and doesn’t spoil the show,” she added.
According to Josina, the next eclipse of this type, in which all stages can be appreciated from any region, will only occur in June 2029, between the 25th and 26th. “Until then, we will have several partial eclipses”, reassured the astronomer.
In addition to Brazil, the other countries of South America and Central America will have the privilege of observing the Blood Moon. The phenomenon will also be visible in parts of North America, Europe and Africa.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon align. “When an extended body, such as the Sun, illuminates another extended body – in this case, the Earth –, two regions of shadow occur: the penumbra and the umbra. When totally dark, without any luminosity, this shadow is the umbra; when it receives light in some points, the shadow, a little lighter, is the penumbra.
“When the Moon enters the shadow of the penumbra, the penumbral eclipse begins; when it is fully in the penumbra, it is the penumbral eclipse. When it starts to enter the umbra, it is the partial eclipse. When the moon is fully immersed in the umbra, it is a total eclipse, and it takes on a beautiful reddish color. That’s why it’s called the Blood Moon”, detailed the astronomer from the National Observatory.
