BY KENNETH McDONAGH: A Penumbral lunar eclipse, will occur on 28th November, 2012 here in Ireland.
It will start at 12:14pm and end at 4:00pm.
Irish people should be alert for the moon turning red during the day and the sky’s look set to be clear with a possible freezing fog in places but it should not cause to much harm just get to high ground.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow). This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon.
The type and length of an eclipse depends upon the Moon’s location relative to its orbital nodes. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth.
A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the moon’s shadow. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are no brighter (indeed dimmer) than the full moon itself.
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