The night sky lighted up in the wee hours of Monday morning for several celestial events ahead of the highly anticipated solar eclipse in early April.
In addition to Friday night’s coronal mass ejection from the sun’s outermost layer, which caused a “severe” geomagnetic storm that was observed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Sunday evening, and auroras, naturally-occurring light displays caused by disruptions in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by the solar wind, which are expected to continue into Monday night. Sunday night saw the rise of the first full Moon of spring, sometimes referred to as a “Worm Moon” or “Sugar Moon” by various peoples.
As the moon settled in near the horizon, an optical effect known as the “Moon Illusion” caused the Moon to appear larger near the horizon than it does when higher up in the sky, a phenomenon known to ancient cultures and recorded since ancient times. It is an illusion whose explanation is subject to debate.
The first spring Moon was notable because it provided a spectacular penumbral lunar eclipse as well, an event that coincided with the Festival of Colors, an ancient and joyous Hindu festival that welcomes spring and celebrates new beginnings.
A lunar eclipse is where Earth aligns itself between the Sun and the Moon. As a result, Earth casts its shadow upon its neighbor, causing it to dim somewhat. To understand what a penumbral lunar eclipse is, it’s important to remember that all objects, when in front of a light source, cast two types of shadow: a dark central part of the shadow, called the umbra, and a lighter, more diffuse part of the shadow around the edge, called the penumbra.
This is what occurred for the Earth when it assumed its position between the Sun and the Moon. While penumbral eclipses can be somewhat difficult to discern, it appeared to us on Earth as a subtle dimming of the Moon’s brightness.
Because it was a full lunar eclipse, the Moon turned red at certain points. Depending on where the Moon is in Earth’s shadow determines the intensity of the red color. For example, when the Moon is in the deepest part of Earth’s shadow, the Moon takes on a blood-red appearance, while it appears to have a light red tint when in partial shadow.
The penumbral lunar eclipse was visible from all of the United States, South America and Canada, the United Kingdom, much of Europe, much of Africa, North and East Asia, western Australia, the Arctic, and Antarctica.
The Moon entered the shadow at 12:53 a.m. EDT, NASA said, and reached its greatest eclipse at 3:13 a.m., when 96% of the moon was in partial shadow. It exited the shadow at 5:32 a.m.
While no precautions were necessary to view the penumbral eclipse, experts warn that proper eyewear will be needed to take in the more rare and more spectacular total solar eclipse on April 8. Whatever you do, do not follow the example of then President Donald Trump, who famously on August 21, 2017 looked up towards the Solar Eclipse from a White House balcony after being warned against doing so.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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