Eyes peeled for a strawberry moon and lunar eclipse
- Published
Friday 5th June brings us this month's full moon. In June it's known as the strawberry moon. Interestingly, this month's full moon coincides with a penumbral lunar eclipse.
Native Americans named June's moon as a celebration of the gathering of wild strawberries. It is rather poetic that this moon can sometimes be seen taking on a "blush" rather like a strawberry ripening. When low in the sky it can on occasion take on a reddish or rose colour, similar to how the Sun can appear red when setting.
What is a penumbral eclipse?
The Moon shines because its surface reflects the Sun's rays. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks some or all of the Sun's light from reaching the Moon. Or, to put it another way, an eclipse happens when the Moon is in the Earth's shadow.
The Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned, Earth casting a shadow on the Moon. This shadow consists of two parts - the dark inner umbra and the lighter, surrounding penumbra
The Earth casts a shadow in the shape of a cone - in technical terms this is known as the hard cone or umbra. Around the edges of this cone, the shadow is a little fuzzy as some light gets through the Earth's atmosphere and this fuzzy bit is called the penumbra. If the Moon passes into the hard cone of shadow (becoming aligned with the Sun and Earth) we get a total lunar eclipse.
However, when the Moon crosses the fuzzy part of the shadow (when the Sun, Earth and Moon are not perfectly aligned) we get a penumbral eclipse, which is what we're seeing this month.
Where can I see the penumbral eclipse?
It should be visible across much of Europe, much of Asia, Australia, Africa, south east South America, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and Antarctica.
What will I see?
Sorry to disappoint but not a lot. There will be a subtle reddening of the Moon. However, for spacecraft at the Moon, such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the reduction in solar power will be noticeable.
When can I see the penumbral eclipse?
While the Moon will appear full for about three nights, the penumbral eclipse will be visible on Friday evening only. It will begin around 18:45 BST, reaching its maximum at 20:24 - but bear in mind it will still be below the horizon in the UK at this point. In London, it will reach its greatest magnitude when the Moon is over the horizon at 21:06 - look towards the south east.