[imagesource:here]

Good news, Cape Town.

Not only will you be able to venture outside between 6AM and 6PM tomorrow, to explore our beautiful city, but you’re also being treated to a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse tonight.

A what now?

The Lunar Eclipse part is simple enough, but what does Penumbral bring to the table?

Let’s get the basics down, according to TimeAndDate:

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned. When this happens, the Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from directly reaching the Moon’s surface and covers all or part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, also known as the penumbra.

Since the penumbra is much fainter than the dark core of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra, a penumbral eclipse of the Moon is often difficult to tell apart from a normal Full Moon.

In other words, it’s going to be subtle, so you’ll need to pay attention.

This screenshot again via TimeAndDate:

Let’s spell those times out:

• 7:45PM – Penumbral Eclipse begins: The Earth’s penumbra start touching the Moon’s face.
• 9:24PM – Maximum Eclipse: Moon is closest to the centre of the shadow.
• 11:04PM – Penumbral Eclipse ends: The Earth’s penumbra ends.

If you can remember through the haze of alcohol tonight, poke your head out at 9:24PM for the maximum eclipse.

Oh, and if you sink a few too many and forget about this evening, don’t lose hope. Another Penumbral Lunar Eclipse should be visible on July 5, so you get a second bite at the cherry.

Thanks, Rob

[source:timeanddate]