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Lunar eclipse supermoon changes skies around the world

A partial lunar eclipse will coincide with a supermoon next week; a remarkable celestial coincidence that will be visible in most parts of the world.

On the night of September 17-18, the Earth will pass between the Sun and the full Moon and cast its shadow on the Moon's surface.

The spectacle will be visible across Europe and Africa, as well as much of Asia and North and South America. The moon will appear larger and brighter when it is closest to Earth in 2024.

“On the evening of Tuesday, September 17 (the evening of the full moon), as twilight ends, the rising moon will be 11 degrees above the east-southeast horizon, while Saturn will be 14 degrees above the horizon to the upper right. Later in the evening, Earth's partial shadow will cover a small upper portion of the moon,” NASA notes on its website.

“The Moon will begin to enter Earth's penumbra at 8:41 p.m. EDT (1:41 a.m. BST on Wednesday). The slight darkening of the Moon will be difficult to notice until the top of the Moon begins to enter full shadow at 10:13 p.m. The peak of the eclipse will be at 10:44 p.m., with only the top 8.4 percent of the Moon in full shadow. The Moon will then disappear completely.”

For those living outside the event zone or without clear skies, a live stream of the partial lunar eclipse will be available on the Time and Date YouTube channel.

The full moon will have a slightly reddish hue as it passes through Earth's shadow as the sun's light passes through Earth's atmosphere.

“A lunar eclipse occurs at a full moon, when the Earth's shadow falls on the moon. The Earth's shadow is actually much larger than the moon itself as seen from the moon, so a lunar eclipse can last a long time and be seen from an entire hemisphere of the Earth,” said Don Pollacco, professor of physics at the University of Warwick, The Independent.

“The shadow of a planet creates an umbra and a penumbra, depending on the position of the planet and the sun. The darkest eclipses occur when the moon moves through the Earth's umbra.

“A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon moves through the Earth's penumbra. In these cases, the darkening of the Moon is usually quite difficult to detect because part of the Moon is still illuminated by the Sun.”

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