Total Lunar Eclipse Coming This Week, Should Be Viewable In Minnesota’s Sky
We are less than a week away from a spectacular night spectacle! A total lunar eclipse is heading to the skies over Minnesota, well actually over all of North America, the night of May 15/16, and we've got the best times to be watching it. Let's hope we've got nice clear skies!
Gary Boyle, also known as The Backyard Astronomer in Canada, sent out a press release letting people know that this great event, where the Earth, moon, and sun all line up in order to bring about a complete lunar eclipse, which according to Nineplanets.org "is a rare event that happens once every 2.5 years or so. They are among the rarest type of an eclipse we can witness on Earth, and we can see them from any given location."
The total lunar eclipse will take place between 9:30pm on May 15 through about 1:00am on May 16th. The Backyard Astronomer's release states that in our neck of the woods you can expect:
"Partial umbral eclipse begins: 9:27 p.m. Moon enters the earth’s shadow.
The total lunar eclipse begins: at 10:29 p.m. Moon turns dark orange or red.
Greatest eclipse: 11:11 p.m. Mid-point of the eclipse.
Total lunar eclipse ends: 11:53 p.m. Moon begins to leave the shadow.
The partial umbral eclipse ends at 12:55 a.m. Moon exits earth’s shadow."
A few years ago I went to the complete solar eclipse in Pawnee County, Nebraska. That was such an amazing event to witness, and I know the solar eclipses are much more common, but being able to, hopefully, if it's clear out, look up at a reasonable hour and witness the lunar eclipse would be pretty cool.
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