Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Stargazers Can Appreciate Astronomical Rarity Sunday

Friday, January 18, 2019, By News Staff
Share
College of Arts and SciencesfacultyPhysics

lunar eclipseLook to the sky on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 20, and you’ll be in for a rare treat.

A total lunar eclipse will be well visible to stargazers as the Earth’s shadow crosses in front of the moon. This month’s total eclipse will be the last one visible from the United States until 2022.

Walter Freeman, an assistant teaching professor in the physics department in the College of Arts and Sciences, answers five questions about the upcoming astronomical event.

Q: What should those in the viewing area of the Jan. 20-21 total lunar eclipse expect to see?

A: Viewers will see a normal full moon at first starting at around 10:35 p.m. Eastern time. At that time, the Earth’s shadow will begin to pass in front of the moon, blocking almost all of the sun’s light from reaching it.

head shot

Walter Freeman

Observers will see the moon appear to be progressively “swallowed up” starting from the lower left. This process will end at 11:40 p.m., when the Earth’s shadow covers the whole of the moon’s surface; this is the beginning of “totality.” This will last until around 12:40 a.m., when the motion of the Earth’s shadow will carry it past the moon, and the moon will gradually again be lit by the sun. At 1:45 a.m., the moon will be fully visible again.

Q: How often does this sort of eclipse happen?

A: There is a little less than one total lunar eclipse per year on average. A lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon, when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. But the moon’s orbit is tilted a little bit compared to the Earth’s, so usually when the moon is full, the Earth’s shadow passes a little bit above or a little bit below it. This is why we don’t have a lunar eclipse every month.

Q: What’s the difference between a total lunar eclipse and a “blood moon”…or are they the same thing?

A: The moon won’t be completely invisible during the period of totality, when the Earth’s shadow completely covers it! A little bit of sunlight is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere and reaches the moon, bending around the edges of the Earth. This small amount of red light still illuminates the moon enough for us to see it. Instead of being bright and white, the moon will be very dim and red, 10,000 or so times dimmer than usual; people call this a “blood moon.”

Since the moon doesn’t shine on its own, but only reflects the sun’s light, any lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is exactly between the sun and the moon.

Q: Is there anything that those on the ground should be aware of when they’re looking up at a total lunar eclipse?

A: There are no precautions you need to take when observing a lunar eclipse, since the moon is never bright enough to hurt our eyes like the sun is. A blood moon is one of the few opportunities we have to see both the moon and the stars in the sky at the same time, since the moon is usually too bright.

Q: When will the next one happen that can be viewed from Syracuse?

A: Partial solar eclipses (where the Earth’s shadow doesn’t completely cover the moon, and only takes a bite out of the side of it) are more common. But the next total solar eclipse visible from Syracuse will be near midnight on the night of May 15-16, 2022.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • ‘ADA Live!’ Focuses on Protection and Advocacy Systems for People with Disabilities
    Sunday, February 28, 2021, By News Staff
  • Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review
    Saturday, February 27, 2021, By Robert Conrad
  • Important Update for Flexible Spending Accounts
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Message From Dean of Students Marianne Thomson
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By Jennifer Russo

More In STEM

Aerospace Engineering Alumni Profile: George Kirby ’92

Great technology requires an equally impressive business plan supporting it. The goal is to have a company led by someone who understands what makes the company innovative and also the business and analytical skill to grow it into an industry…

Keeping SARS2 Out of the Cell

As vaccines are distributed worldwide to fight the pandemic, important research at Syracuse University may uncover ways to block it and similar viruses in the future. Alison Patteson, assistant professor of physics, and Jennifer Schwarz, associate professor of physics, recently…

Syracuse University Campus as a Laboratory Funding Now Available

The Syracuse University Campus as a Laboratory for Sustainability (CALS) program is offering up to $75,000 for faculty or student projects that advance the University’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, directly or indirectly, or through raising awareness on campus…

Biology Professor Breaks Down Science Behind Ancestry, Heritage Tests

As people celebrate Black History Month, many in and connected to the African American community may be interested in tracing more of their family history and learning about their connections to the African continent. How do you piece together your…

ECS Receives National Recognition for College’s Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

The College of Engineering and Computer Science was recently awarded bronze level status from the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Diversity Recognition Program. The program’s goal is to help engineering, engineering technology and computing programs promote diversity, equity and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.