Watch 'blood moon’ lunar eclipse this evening (Oct 8) at 6.50pm
Stargazers in the Americas and Asia will be treated to a lunar eclipse on Wednesday, a celestial show that will bathe the moon in red to create a “blood moon”.
During the total lunar eclipse, the Earth will pass between the sun and the moon.
As it happens, the moon will reflect sunlight scattered in the Earth’s atmosphere, taking on a red hue.
According to The Astronomical Society of Singapore (Tasos), the moon will already be in total eclipse phase when it rises in Singapore at 6.52pm today (Oct 8).
Tasos is organising a viewing at Labrador Park for the eclipse, which will start at 6.25pm and end at 7.24pm. (Details below)
Live on Nasa site
But if you want to watch it from the start, you can see it live via NASA’s robotic telescope service, Slooh.
“NASA moon experts will be up all night on October 8 to answer your questions,” the space agency said.
The eclipse is the second of four total lunar eclipses, starting with a first “blood moon” on April 15, in a series astronomers call a tetrad.
The next two total lunar eclipses will be on April 4 and Sept 28 of next year.
The last time a tetrad took place was in 2003-2004, with the next predicted for 2032-2033. In total, the 21st century will see eight tetrads.
Amateur astronomists in Africa or Europe are out of luck, NASA said, as the event will not be visible in those regions. - AFP
INFO
What: Total Lunar Eclipse Observation
When: Today (Oct 8)
Time: 6.30pm to 9pm
Venue: Labrador Park (Near Tanjong Berlayer Beacon facing Sentosa)
Source: AFP, The Astronomical Society of Singapore
Related report: Did the haze ruin the blood moon experience in S'pore?
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