Dubai: A “blood moon” is occuring tonight as the Earth, moon and sun align together to produce a total lunar eclipse – the second total lunar eclipse this year - which will only happen again in 2025.
However, the blood moon will not be visible in the region as the total lunar eclipse will take place from 2.16pm to 3.41pm (UAE time) and the moon will only rise by around 6pm.
What the region and most part of Europe will witness is partial penumbral eclipse, although it can be difficult to see with the naked eye as the shadowed part is only slightly fainter than the rest of the moon.
Extra treat
Not only will the total lunar eclipse will be visible throughout North America in the predawn hours and across Asia, Australia and the rest of the Pacific after sunset, there is also an extra treat – as Uranus will be visible just a finger’s width above the moon, resembling a bright star.
The total lunar eclipse will last nearly 1.5 hours. It will appear a reddish-orange from the light of Earth’s sunsets and sunrises – thus the moniker “blood moon”.
Next in 2025
Tonight will be the second total lunar eclipse this year — the first was in May – and the next will occur in 2025. But there will be plenty of partial lunar eclipses happening until that time. In the meantime, residents in the UAE can watch live streams of tonight’s celestial spectacle.
