total eclipse of the Moon will occur on Tuesday, May 4. This will be the third such event within a span of less than a year’s time, the two previous lunar eclipses having occurred during 2003 on May 15-16 and Nov. 8. This will be a sky show reserved primarily for those living in the Eastern Hemisphere.

North America will miss out on the entire show, as the Moon will be below the horizon during midday and afternoon hours. Weather permitting, some Europeans will have a chance to see the very end of the event.

The very best viewing region for viewing this eclipse will fall over across western Asia, much of the Indian Ocean and the eastern two-thirds of Africa. The entire eclipse will be visible from this region.

The eclipse will actually begin when the Moon enters the faint outer portion, or penumbra, of the Earth's shadow about an hour before it begins moving into the umbra. The penumbra, however, is all but invisible to the eye until the Moon becomes deeply immersed in it.

The most obvious part of the eclipse will be when the Moon is passing through the dark umbral shadow of the Earth. As was the case last November, the Moon will track to the south of the center of the Earth’s umbra, although it will penetrate deeper into the shadow. As a result, totality will last longer than last fall, running 1 hour 16 minutes. At its deepest phase, the southern edge of the Moon will be closest to the outer edge of the umbra by 668 miles/1,071 kilometers.

The opening umbral stages of this eclipse will be visible at, or just before moonset, from much of central and eastern Asia (except northeast Siberia), most of Indonesia and Australia. Across the eastern third of Australia (where the calendar will read May 5) the Moon will set while still in total eclipse.

Meanwhile much of central Australia will see the Moon gradually emerging from the shadow as it sets, while for the western-third of Australia, the Moon will be completely free of the umbra by the time the Moon sets.

The closing umbral stages of the eclipse will be available at, or soon after moonrise, from the western-third of Africa, Europe, and the eastern two-thirds of South America. Along the Atlantic coast of South America, from São Luís, Brazil and points east and south, the Moon will appear to rise totally eclipsed during the late afternoon of May 4.

Below is a schedule for the eclipse. Because nearly all world time calculations are reckoned from the time zone centered on Greenwich, England, times for the eclipse are provided in Greenwich Mean Time or G.M.T. You will need to correct for your specific location by adding or subtracting the number of hours to obtain the local standard time for your country. Remember that if you crossover the midnight hour, the calendar date becomes May 5.

17:51 - Moon enters penumbra
18:51 - Moon enters umbra
19:52 - Total eclipse begins
20:30 - Middle of the eclipse
21:08 - Total eclipse ends
22:12 - Moon leaves umbra
23:10 - Moon leaves penumbra


The next total lunar eclipse will occur on the night of October 28-29 and will favor most of the Americas, as well as western portions of Europe and Africa.

This is also being covered in the Other Stories section.

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