North America and a large part of South America will be able to admire on the night of Thursday to Friday, November 18, an "
almost total
"
lunar eclipse
, the longest of its kind since the year 1440.
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The eclipse, at the height of which 99.1% of the Moon's visible surface will be obscured (Friday at 10:03 a.m.), will also be visible from parts of northeast Asia, Polynesia and eastern Australia, but not from Europe or Africa, says NASA on its website dedicated to the Moon.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned.
Our natural satellite is then found in the shadow of the Earth, which hides it from our view.
If the alignment is not perfect, the eclipse is not total.
3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds
The eclipse of November 19 may be only partial, it will last a total of 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds, the longest since that of February 18, 1440, which had lasted 23 seconds longer.
The eclipse will begin at 8:19 a.m. when the Moon enters Earth's shadow.
For terrestrial observers, the lunar disk will give the impression of being slowly nibbled away.
At 9:45 a.m., more than 95% of the lunar disk will be in shadow and the Moon will take on a reddish hue as the Earth's atmosphere deflects red rays of sunlight into the interior of its shadow cone.
This phenomenon will be most visible during the peak of the eclipse at 10:03 am.
At 11:47 a.m., the entire Moon will be visible again.
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According to NASA, it will be necessary to wait until February 8, 2669 to witness a partial eclipse of a longer duration (3 hours 30 minutes) than that of Friday but a total eclipse is expected in less than a year, on November 8, 2022, and will last 3 hours 40 minutes in total.
The spectacle can be seen with the naked eye without any danger, unlike solar eclipses.
Binoculars, glasses and telescopes will allow you to enjoy it even more, provided the sky is clear enough.