Residents in the Chicago area are ready for the year’s only total lunar eclipse, but will anyone actually be able to see it?
The eclipse will reach totality just before sunrise on Tuesday morning, casting the moon’s surface in a dark red hue that will be a delight to stargazers through most of the United States.
The question at hand is whether Mother Nature will cooperate.
Here’s what we know.
What is a lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow over the moon.
A partial lunar eclipse is just what it sounds like, where only part of Earth’s shadow covers the moon.
A total lunar eclipse is when the moon moves completely into Earth’s shadow, which causes the moon to appear red in color. That is what we’ll see in a few weeks.
The red color is from sunlight shining and refracting through Earth’s atmosphere. The light gets scattered, much like in the sky during a pretty sunset, filtering out the other colors on the spectrum and leaving us with a red hue.
That light then bounces off the moon back down to Earth for us to see at night.
When will the eclipse take place?
A partial eclipse will begin at 3:50 a.m. on Tuesday morning, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
Totality of the eclipse, when the moon’s surface will appear a dark red color, will begin at 5:04 a.m., peaking at 5:33 a.m. Totality will end at 6:02 a.m.
The partial eclipse will continue past 7 a.m., but won’t be visible in the Chicago area because of sunrise, according to meteorologists.
Will Chicago-area residents be able to see it?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear likely that area residents will be able to see the big show on Tuesday morning.
Cloud cover is expected to increase Monday night and into Tuesday morning, and there is also a chance of rain across the area, which will likely cover up the eclipse for area residents.
If the weather holds out, residents would be able to see the moon low in the western sky on Tuesday morning. When the moon is lower on the horizon it appears bigger, which would make the spectacle even more vivid.
When is the next lunar eclipse that will be visible in the Chicago area?
The next partial lunar eclipse will occur on August 27 at 11 p.m. It will be slightly red because most of the surface will be covered, but it isn’t a total eclipse, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
Unfortunately for residents, if the weather spoils the show on Tuesday morning, the next total lunar eclipse that will be visible in the Chicago area won’t occur for another three years, taking to the skies on the night of June 25, 2029.
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