A Blood Red Lunar Eclipse will take place on Tuesday 8 November – Photo: Clive Ko / Flickr
A Blood Red Lunar Eclipse will take place on Tuesday 8 November – Photo: Clive Ko / Flickr
We’ve got another major celestial event on the cards for Tuesday – but unfortunately, it’s not quite fallen our way. The Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse takes place later today, turning Earth’s satellite into a spooky shade of crimson.
Can we see the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in South Africa? Well, not with a naked eye, no…
It’s the second such lunar eclipse of 2022, with the last one taking place in May. The Blood Moon occurs when the celestial body moves into the deep umbral shadow of the Earth, and receives only light first filtered by our planet’s atmosphere.
The phenomenon will last for about an hour-and-a-half in each region. However, things haven’t quite aligned how we wanted them to. The Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse will NOT be visible to the naked eye in South Africa – nor will it be observable for the rest of the continent.
Who else is missing out?
All of Europe, most Gulf States, and eastern parts of South America will also be left wanting. So at least we’re not alone in missing out. Sadly, this type of event won’t take place again until 2025 – so its a long wait for stargazers in SA who were hoping for something magical today.
Alas, we have no choice but to accept our fate. There is one other option, though. Those who are fully dedicated to the calendar of celestial activity will be pleased to know you can ‘live stream’ the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse, from 11:00 on Tuesday 8 November.
How to live stream the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday 8 November
The good people at timeanddate.com have provided a broadcast link, where they will tap-in to feeds from the USA and Australia. The proper moon-heads amongst us don’t have to miss out on this rare occasion, and provisions have been made for the excluded continents.
