Total lunar eclipse with 'Blood Moon' to be visible in these parts of the world on May 15-16

It will be a treat for stargazers as they get to view the first lunar eclipse of 2022. The Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon during a lunar eclipse, and this time around it is a Super Blood Moon. The Moon will turn dark, then dusky red and later will completely fall into the Earth's shadow.

The Moon will appear larger than usual as, which is considered a Super Moon as it will be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

The eclipse lasts more than five hours, it will begin at 7.02 am on May 16 and will end at 12.20 pm (IST on Monday).

The eclipse began at 7.57 am IST on Monday, but will not be visible in India. However, it can be viewed via livestream here.

The event is occurring after almost a year since the last total lunar eclipse. The Moon will be under a reddish tint as it charts a course via the southern half of Earth’s shadow and is expected to ultimate (eclipse) for more than 85 minutes.

This is the first of the two lunar eclipses set to occur in 2022. The second lunar eclipse will occur on November 8, which will be visible in parts of Asia, Australia, North America, northern and eastern Europe, and most of South America.

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The lunar eclipse would begin at 10:28 pm to 01:55 am EDT on May 15 and 16 and 7:02 am to 12:20 pm IST on May 16.

Sky gazers in most of North America, all Latin America, Western Europe, most of Africa, and the East Pacific will be able to witness the eclipse. During the event the Moon will darken and acquire a reddish hue in the late evening of May 15 into the early hours of May 16. Meanwhile, a penumbral eclipse, an event that arises when the moon is in the lighter penumbral shadow from our planet, will be visible in New Zealand, eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

The eclipse is set to last for a total of three hours and 27 minutes and the moon is expected to undergo one hour and 25 minutes of totality (a phase when the moon is completely covered by the Earth's shadow).

The mid-eclipse will occur on May 16 at 4:12 AM Universal Time which will be around 9:42 AM IST.

On the night of the eclipse, the Moon will seem around 12 per cent larger than it does when it’s at apogee (farthest from Earth in its orbit). The reddish hue will create the appearance of the Blood Moon as well.

During the totality phase, viewers may be able to observe the glowing summer Milky Way as the sky darkens. The eclipse event will occur simultaneously, however, the viewability of the complete event will be subject to weather conditions.

Also read: NASA’s lunar backpack will help astronauts generate real-time 3D maps