Tomorrow's total lunar eclipse will be the last one until 2025
Topics: News, World News, Space, NASA, Science
Joe Harker
Featured Image Credit: blickwinkel / Steven H Jones / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: News, World News, Space, NASA, Science
There's a total lunar eclipse on tomorrow, but you'd better make sure you catch it because there's not going to be another one until 2025.
There are lots of different types of eclipses, a total lunar eclipse is one where the Earth comes in between the sun and a full moon, completely blocking any direct sunlight from getting through.
Basically, it's when the sun, Earth and moon are all in line in that order, and when the eclipse reaches the key point the moon appears to turn red.
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This happens because light is refracted around the Earth, sapping much of the colour out of it, and then hits the moon bathing it in orange and red.
This is also where the total lunar eclipse gets the somewhat macabre name 'blood moon' from, which probably scared the absolute crap out of people in olden times who didn't fully understand what was happening.
Now we know it's not a harbinger of the end times but a fascinating scientific process that's all about how light works we can enjoy it for what it is.
Or at least some people in the world will be able to enjoy it, as tomorrow (8 November) people in North, Central and almost all of South America, Asia and Oceania can look up to the sky and see it.
People living in Alaska or the rest of the west coast of the US will get to see the whole thing, as will almost all of Japan, but others will only be able to see chunks of the eclipse.
According to NASA the next one is set to take place on 14 March, 2025, so those who can get a look should take this opportunity or be stuck waiting years for the next one.
It's even worse news for people living in Africa, the Middle East, almost all of Europe and in the easternmost tip of Brazil, as they won't get to see the eclipse at all.
We say that, it's not strictly true as NASA has set up a livestream where from tomorrow you'll be able to watch the lunar eclipse, but watching a wonderous space event on a screen isn't quite the same as looking up to the skies and witnessing it for yourself.
As for looking up at the skies, while a solar eclipse requires you to put on special glasses and be careful, looking at a lunar eclipse is entirely safe, you can stare at it all the way through the process and be in no danger.