Spain will witness a huge blood moon tonight: where and when to see the lunar eclipse

Early this Monday, the Moon will be completely eclipsed again, an astronomical phenomenon that will be visible in the Canary Islands and in much of the world (in most of Europe, Africa and America), although the clouds will make it difficult to contemplate in many places.

At 2:28 GMT the next morning (4:28 a.m. on the Peninsula), the Earth’s shadow will begin to overshadow the Moon and an hour later (at 3:29 GMT) the total eclipse will beginwhich will last until 4:54 GMT in the morning, and at 5:55 am (7:55 am on the Peninsula) the satellite will recover all its splendor after one of the longest eclipses in recent decades.

Thus, a huge and long blood moon will form that can be seen from Spain, since tonight it will be a short distance from our terrestrial point. During the time that the total eclipse lasts, the Moon will not be totally dark but will acquire a reddish hue due to part of the sunlight being deflected by the Earth’s atmosphere.

Unlike solar eclipses, observing a lunar eclipse can be done with the naked eyebecause it does not require special instrumentation to contemplate it, nor does it entail any danger.

Although it is the only star to which a manned mission has reached, the Moon still hides many secrets, including why the visible side and the hidden side are so different; unknowns and challenges that have reactivated the interest of several space agencies to return to the satellite and to scrutinize mysteries about its formation and its history. and total eclipses represent an opportunity for scientists to deepen their knowledge of the satellite of the Earth and try to better understand the complex events that took place during the formation of the Solar System, or to determine some fundamental parameters, such as the diameter of the Moon or the exact distance at which it is located.

Precisely, the reddish color that it acquires during the phase of totality makes it possible to measure properties of the Earth’s atmosphere, and the lower brightness of the Moon -despite being in full phase- facilitates the measurements that are made bouncing a laser beam off the surface of the Moon and allows to measure the time it takes for light to return to Earth.

In addition to Spain, several scientific institutions and space agencies have scheduled special events on the occasion of this astronomical event and pTo divulge some of the scientific aspects and projects of lunar exploration, among which the Artemis program -led by NASA- to return to the Moon with manned missions stands out. An astronomical phenomenon like that of the next morning will be repeated in some regions of the world on November 8, but a similar event will not occur in Spain until May 14, 2025.