On Tuesday, November 8, UAE skygazers can see a blood moon and a penumbral lunar eclipse.
A total lunar eclipse will take place in many parts of the world, but will not be visible in the UAE.
The Dubai Astronomy Group tweeted, "The total lunar eclipse will not be visible in our region, we are only seeing a partial Penumbral Eclipse." A penumbral lunar eclipse can be a bit hard to see as the shadowed part is only a little bit fainter than the rest of the Moon.”
In an explanation of the celestial event, Sarath Raj, Project Director - Amity Dubai Satellite Ground Station and AmiSat, Amity University Dubai, said, "A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes completely behind earth, casting its shadow on its surface." Since the Moon does not produce any light of its own, sunlight is reflected off its surface. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, preventing it from receiving direct sunlight. The Earth's shadow is projected on the Moon's surface by the Sun.”
Due to Earth's atmosphere, total lunar eclipses are sometimes referred to as blood moons. The light from our planet will scatter on the moon's surface giving it a reddish hue.
Penumbral eclipses, partial eclipses, and total eclipses are the three main types of lunar eclipses.
According to him, "On November 8, the Right Ascension of the Moon will be 02h 26m 46.7s and the Declination will be 14° 09' 59.5". The Magnitude of the Moon will be -12.57 with a Solar Elongation of 173.7°."
Raj explains the seven stages of a total lunar eclipse in more detail. The penumbral eclipse begins, the partial eclipse begins, the total eclipse begins, the maximum eclipse ends, and the penumbral eclipse concludes after the partial eclipse.
As the moon passes entirely within Earth's shadow, totality will be visible in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North and Central America, Ecuador, Colombia, and western Venezuela and Peru. In Puerto Rico, the moon sets just after totality begins. In Alaska and Hawaii, viewers will have the opportunity to see every stage of the eclipse.
The total eclipse in Dubai begins at 2:16 pm and ends at 3:41 pm below the horizon. Hence, in Dubai we cannot see the whole phase of this lunar eclipse. At 5:33 pm the Moon rises in Dubai at 0.2 degrees below the flat horizon and the Moon is entirely above the horizon in Dubai at 5:36 pm when the eclipse achieves its maximum intensity. Due to this, only a penumbral lunar eclipse, which lasts until 5:58 pm, may be seen in Dubai.”
There is a saying that a Total Lunar Eclipse cannot be observed on every full moon night.
Due to the fact that the Sun, Earth, and Moon don't always line up on full moons. This will be the second total lunar eclipse this year with the first one having taken place in May 2022.
After tomorrow's eclipse, there will not be another total lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025, according to NASA.
Lunar eclipses can be seen safely with binoculars and telescopes, unlike solar eclipses.