The longest lunar eclipse of this century will occur early Friday morning (Nov. 19). It will last for 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 23 seconds. This near-total lunar eclipse is also the longest lunar eclipse in 580 years.
“The Moon will be so close to opposite the Sun on Nov 19 that it will pass through the southern part of the shadow of the Earth for a nearly total lunar eclipse,” NASA said on its website.
Skywatchers in many parts of the world, including North America, eastern Australia, New Zealand, and Japan will be lucky to view this lunar eclipse.
This will be a truly spectacular time for skywatchers, as only a small sliver of the moon will be visible during the eclipse. Only about 3% of the moon will be visible. According to NASA, the moon should appear to be a reddish-brown color.
“For U.S. East Coast observers, the partial eclipse begins a little after 2 a.m., reaching its maximum at 4 in the morning,” NASA reported. “For observers on the West Coast, that translates to beginning just after 11 p.m., with a maximum at 1 a.m.”
There is no need for a telescope or binoculars to view this. You can also catch a live stream of the event here while sitting in your home.
