Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of Beyond the Forecast!
We are previewing a special sight in the night sky today: the partial lunar eclipse that will be happening early Friday morning!
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At peak eclipse, 99.1% of the Moon will be in the Earth’s shadow, with only a sliver of the south pole in direct sunlight. This will be safe to view without eye protection!
We won’t be the only ones getting the chance to view this. All of North America, much of South America and northeast Asia will see the show as well.
Before I take you step-by-step through this eclipse, I have to explain Earth’s umbra and penumbra. The umbra refers to the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, while the penumbra is the lighter shading on the outside of the umbra.
When the moon is in the penumbra, the eclipse won’t be as noticeable. When it reaches the umbra, that’s when you’ll see it turn a reddish hue.
Alright, here we go. The moon will rise at 4:52 p.m. Thursday and stay outside of the penumbra until 1:02 a.m. Friday. It will appear like a typical full moon.
The penumbral eclipse will begin at 1:02 a.m. and continue until 2:18 a.m. The full moon will appear slightly dimmer, but the show won’t be very exciting just yet.
The partial lunar eclipse begins at 2:18 a.m. It will be 50% eclipsed by 3:00 a.m., finally reaching peak (99.1%) eclipse at 4:03 a.m.
The eclipse starts to ramp down again as we go later in the morning. It will be at 50% coverage again by 5:05 a.m.
The moon leaves the Earth’s umbra at 5:47 a.m., then the penumbra at 7:03 a.m. The sun will rise at 7:04 a.m. and the moon will set at 7:12 a.m.
Here’s another visualization from Tony Rice, an astronomy expert in Raleigh. The Virginia Tech graduate is always a big help with articles like this!
At the moment, cloud cover does not appear to be a concern while the eclipse is going on Friday morning; but as always, check back for updates if you’re hoping to view this cool event!
Switching gears to this week’s forecast, it appears we’ll be riding the temperature roller coaster for a few days! Meteorologist Chris Michaels has a look at when we’ll be feeling some unseasonable warmth in today’s forecast article.
You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Southside, the Highlands or elsewhere around Southwest and Central Virginia, anytime at WSLS.com/weather. Know your zone!
In case you missed it, we’re posting great weather and science content on WSLS.com. Here are a few links from the past week to check out:
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-- Justin McKee