This phenomenon occurs regarding twice a year, when the Sun, Earth and Moon are perfectly aligned, and the Moon is in its full phase.
The star slips into the shadow of the Earth, which then shields the sun’s rays, and gradually loses its white glow. The bright, white moon then takes on a red, dull tint. The phenomenon is visible to the naked eye, with binoculars.
The eclipse will last almost five hours, and its totality phase – when the star is completely in the Earth’s shadow – a little over an hour.
In mainland France, the last dates back to January 2019 and the next will not take place until 2029.
Total eclipse Between 5:29 a.m. and 6:54 a.m.
In mainland France, the eclipse will be total at the end of the night between 5:29 a.m. and 6:54 a.m., with a maximum at 6:11 a.m.: the lunar disc will then be completely red. Note that the Moon will set during this phase of totality, at the same time as the Sun will rise. It will therefore be all the easier to observe the phenomenon if you are to the west of France, where the Sun rises later than to the east.
It is advisable to choose as a place of observation a place where the horizon is “clear to the west”.
The next total lunar eclipse is scheduled for November 2022, in the middle of the Pacific.
Lunar eclipses have shown that the Earth was round “from antiquity”, underlines the astronomer. “On the surface of the lunar disk, the limit between the shadow and the part illuminated by the Sun is slightly curved: this is the projection of the roundness of the Earth”.
