Saturday, July 4th – Sunday, July 5th 2020
Just after midnight Sunday is the July Full Moon (NASA SKYCAL). This Full Moon is sometimes called the Buck Moon. Additionally, the Moon will be at aphelion, or the farthest point from the Sun in its orbit (NASA SKYCAL). A penumbral lunar eclipse will also occur just after midnight early Sunday (NASA SKYCAL). This eclipse will be visible in North America (Space.com). A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the outer shadow of the Earth, which is called the penumbra (Space.com). Penumbral eclipses can be harder to discern than partial or total eclipses and at best you may notice that the surface of the Moon appears to be shaded darker during the eclipse (Earthsky.org). The maximum eclipse occurs at 12:30 AM EDT Sunday (NASA SKYCAL). The image below shows where this penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible.
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2020Jul05N.pdf
The following sites were used in the creation of this blog:
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-a-penumbral-eclipse-of-the-moon
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2020Jul05N.pdf
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-june-26-july-4-2/
https://www.space.com/33786-lunar-eclipse-guide.html
