Throwing shade on the Moon
The Might 2022 total lunar eclipse would be the darkest since that of Dec. 9/10, 1992, which occurred after the highly effective 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption within the Philippines. On the Danjon scale of brightness and colour (from L = 0 to 4, with 0 being the darkest and least colourful), the December 1992 totality had a Danjon worth of L = 0.5 to 1.0. For the Might 2022 occasion, David Levy of Vail, Arizona, estimated a Danjon worth of L = 1.5. Harvard College astronomer Dan Inexperienced, observing in St. Louis, Missouri, discovered the eclipse at mid-totality to be about magnitude –1.5 (or roughly as brilliant as Sirius) — fairly the drop from the Full Moon’s magnitude of –12.8.
Might’s notably darkish totality was attributable to the Moon’s passage by means of the southern half of Earth’s shadow, the place refracted daylight was dimmed by aerosols injected into the stratosphere by the January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai eruption. The dimming impact may very well be spied through the penumbral phases, when it was solely 36 % eclipsed; often it’s first detected when the Moon is about 60 % eclipsed.
Throughout the umbral phases, a virtually uniform burnt sienna colour washed over the Moon’s face with little different colour noticeable. By a telescope, the umbra’s forefront appeared metal blue nearly all through your complete umbral phases; this impact is because of gentle passing by means of Earth’s higher stratosphere and penetrating the ozone layer, which absorbs crimson gentle — thus making that part of the shadow seem blue.
Come totality, nevertheless, the Moon’s excessive southern limb (that farthest away from the umbra’s middle) glowed the colour of straw beneath a setting Solar, whereas the Moon’s southern highlands took on a rusty shade. To the unaided eyes, the Moon’s northern half (closest to the umbra) nearly vanished into the background sky as mid-totality neared, making totality appear as if a burning model of the letter C.
By the best way, on Oct. 25, a partial solar eclipse occured, favoring Europe, South and West Asia, and northeast Africa. A total lunar eclipse adopted Nov. 7/8, which favored the Americas, north and east Europe, Asia, Australia, and a part of Antarctica. When you made a curious statement, ship it to sjomeara31@gmail.com.
