Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Saturday 6 May 2023

This weekend, on Saturday 6 May 2023, I hope the skies are clear on Norfolk Island, so I can watch the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. This eclipse of the moon will not be like a full eclipse when the moon turns Red, the penumbral eclipse will only shade the moon, which is described below. Here on Norfolk Island, the view will be during the early hours of the morning between 2.14am and 6.27am. I wonder if the skies will be clear or will the clouds obscure the view of the shadow moving across the moon.

I have checked out the internet for details of the Saturday’s Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.

A deep penumbral lunar eclipse overnight May 5-6 (earthsky.org)

Penumbral lunar eclipse

People in eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean will see deep penumbral lunar eclipse during the night of May 5-6, 2023.

The full moon and eclipses

If this full moon were truly opposite the sun, there’d be a total umbral eclipse of the moon. That is, the darkest part of Earth’s shadow – the umbra – would cover the moon at mid-eclipse. But this full moon in May sweeps to the south of the Earth’s umbra. So, no total or partial lunar eclipse in the Earth’s dark shadow can take place.

Instead, the full moon almost fully passes through the Earth’s penumbral shadow. So, it’s a very deep penumbral eclipse. At no time will Earth’s dark shadow take a “bite” out of the moon. Instead, penumbral eclipses are all about subtle shadings.

Eclipses in 2023

The May 5, penumbral lunar eclipse is preceded two weeks earlier by a hybrid solar eclipse on April 20, 2023. The fact is, these two eclipses take place within a

single eclipse season.

An eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period during which it’s inevitable for at least two (and possibly three) eclipses to take place.

Then later this year, the October 2023 eclipse season will feature a annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, and a very shallow partial lunar eclipse on October 28, 2023.

Eclipses visible in Kingston, Norfolk Island – May 5, 2023 Lunar Eclipse (timeanddate.com)

Eclipses in Kingston, Norfolk Island

Global Event:	Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
Local Type:	Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, in Kingston
Begins:	Sat, May 6, 2023 at 2:14 am
Maximum:	Sat, May 6, 2023 at 4:22 am -0.046 Magnitude
Ends:	Sat, May 6, 2023 at 6:27 am
Duration:	4 hours, 13 minutes

The curvature of the shadow's path and the apparent rotation of the Moon's disk is due to the Earth's rotation.

During this penumbral lunar eclipse, the Earth's main shadow does not cover the Moon.

As the Earth's shadow (umbra) misses the Moon during a penumbral lunar eclipse, there are no other locations on Earth where the Moon appears partially or totally eclipsed during this event.

A penumbral lunar eclipse can be a bit hard to see as the shadowed part is only a little bit fainter than the rest of the Moon. Also, viewers will need to check the local weather for Kingston.

If you get a chance, head downtown to Kingston, and photograph the moon and our beautiful stars. If you have a tripod and camera, try taking some night sky photos, even mobile phones have clever settings. Astrophotography is challenging and it is one of my aims to learn more skills, so I can capture more of pictures of our “Norfolk Island Magical Dark Skies”.

Don’t worry about not having the right stargazing equipment, your eyes are the only thing you need to begin stargazing.

A great way to start is to simply walk outside and look up, there’s a lot you can see with your naked eyes.

If you are interested in astronomy, follow the links to the Australian Dark Sky Alliance ADSA, and International Dark Sky Association IDA, and Earth Sky Astronomy. These links have regular updates plus there are links to webinars, information about protecting our night skies.

Night Environment Conservation | ADSA (australasiandarkskyalliance.org)

https://www.australasiandarkskyalliance.org/

International Dark Sky Association - International Dark-Sky Association

Here on Norfolk Island, I have been part of a group promoting Norfolk Island becoming an International Dark Sky Place, this will give international status and protection to our world class dark skies for future generations, will help protect our unique environment and will also be great for tourism. Enjoy our “Magical Norfolk Island Dark Night Skies” and protect the night from light pollution.

The penumbral lunar eclipse may be difficult to view, but it may be interesting to see if the full moon looks paler on the early hours of Saturday morning this weekend.

Betty Matthews

May 2023