Total Lunar eclipse to darken skies this weekend

#Canada, #Totallunareclipse

Toronto, Jan 18 (Canadian-Media): A total lunar eclipse would occur on Jan 20 or 21 when the moon would be at the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, media reports said.   

This occurrence during a full moon when the moon would be at the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbitis is reportedly referred to by the  non-astronomers as a "super moon". 

would be visible to Canadians depending on where you are in the country, media reports said.

This would reportedly be the the first full moon of 2019, and the first lunar eclipse of 2019 -- this being a an eclipse-heavy year, with three solar and two lunar eclipses, this January 20-21 -- and the moon is expected to turn a coppery-red - popularly known as 'super blood wolf moon' - as the Earth's atmosphere scatters the light from the sun.

The eclipse will happen on the night of the year’s first of three straight full supermoons, meaning the moon will be nearly at its closest to Earth for this January, as the eclipse takes place.

It can be viewed from North and South America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, northern and western Africa, plus the Arctic region of the globe.

At the eastern/western fringes of the viewing area, only the beginning or ending stages of this eclipse would reportedly be visible. For instance, from the Middle East and eastern/southern Africa, only a glimpse of the beginning of the partial eclipse would be visible low in the western sky shortly before the sun rises and the moon sets on January 21.

At the other extreme – from the temperate regions of northeastern Siberia – only a glimpse of the of the final stages of the partial eclipse -- low in the eastern skyfor a short while after the sun sets and the moon rises on January 21 -- would be visible..

The worldwide map below shows where the eclipse is visible worldwide, and, beneath the map, we give the local times for the eclipse at North American and U.S. time zones.

Lunar Eclipse map & animation

For more specifically when this eclipse is visible from your part of the world, one of these sources would be helpful: Total lunar eclipse on January 20-21 via TimeandDate.com; Exact times of eclipse’s phases via Time.Unitarium.com; Total lunar eclipse (put in your time zone) via Hermit Eclipse

Orange and red light with longer wavelengths refract, or bend, around the Earth and eventually reach the moon. 

With clear skies, the entire nine-and-a-half-hour event can be seen  in Canada from coast-to-coast, which will actually last just over four hours.

In case of cloudy nights, the total lunar eclipse can be watched online.

The Virtual Telescope Project - remotely controlled robotic online telescope - will begin to air this phenomenon at 10:30pm ET.

TimeandDate.com will begin their coverage at 10pm ET.

During its penumbral phase, where it glides through Earth's outer, a much fainter shadow is visible.

Once the moon enters the umbra or darker shadow, one can see partial eclipse of the moon.

It is when the moon, about 90 minutes later, reaches totality, it still  unknown if the moon will turn a coppery red or remain dark.

As the moon begins its exit  through the umbra and eventually the penumbra, the process goes in reverse and full eclipse of the moon can be seen.

Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse can be viewed directly without any harm to human eyes.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)