Look up to the sky Sunday night. A rare total lunar eclipse will occur starting after 10 p.m. and it will be visible from Georgia.
Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Eboni Deon went to Tellus Science Museum to learn what makes this weekend's eclipse so unique.
“A total lunar eclipse happens only at the time of a full moon and when you have the sun, moon and earth lined up in a straight line," astronomer David Dundee told Deon.
“January is a great time for a lunar eclipse because the path of the moon will be high overhead.”
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A lunar eclipse happens a few times a year, but it’s not always visible on the same part of the planet. During most months when there is a full moon, it misses the Earth’s shadow.
Sunday’s eclipse will be visible to the entire western hemisphere, including here in north Georgia. This weekend there will also be a super moon during the eclipse, which will appear reddish.
“You’ll see it go dark. It will not go completely black because the earth has an atmosphere,” Dundee said. “What shade of red it turns depends on cloud cover, dust that’s in the air that day."
The best viewing times for Georgia will be from 10:30 p.m. Sunday until about 1 a.m. Monday.
The good news is, you don’t need any additional equipment or special filters. It is just as safe to observe the lunar eclipse as it is to look up at a full moon.
The next total lunar eclipse for Georgia is in May 2021.
"It will be warmer then, but the moon’s path in the sky is lower, so viewing won’t be as nice as this Sunday’s," Dundee said.
For more information on total lunar eclipse events happening at the Tellus Science Center, you can visit their site here.
ECLIPSE TIMES:
- Partial Eclipse Begins 10:33 p.m. eastern
- Total Eclipse Begins 11:41 p.m. eastern
- Total Eclipse Ends 12:43 a.m. eastern (1 hour, 1 minute, 59 seconds)
- Partial Eclipse Ends 1:50 a.m. eastern (3 hours, 16 minutes 45 seconds)
Cox Media Group
