ScienceToday

After the eclipse of the Sun on December 26, another one will hit the skies. On January 10, we will have the chance to enjoy a “Wolf Moon Eclipse”. This phenomenon will happen as the moon drifts into Earth’s shadow.

At the same time, the first full Moon of 2020 will bring us a penumbral lunar eclipse. It is the first of four lunar eclipses, and 13 full Moons this year has to offer. Observers under clear skies will witness an odd-looking full moon on Friday, January 10, 2020.

“Wolf Moon Eclipse”-visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and some parts of Australia

But where can they see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse”? It will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and some parts of Australia. Although this eclipse can not be seen in North America, the observers will have a beautiful surprise.

In North and South America, observers can discover January’s full “Wolf Moon”. This beautiful full moon will be best seen at moonrise and moonset. Dusk on Friday will be the best time to watch the full moon rise in the west close to sunset.

As a matter of fact, penumbral lunar eclipses aren’t rare at all. January’s penumbral eclipse is the first of four to happen in 2020. The next ones will take place on June 5, July 5, and November 30.

According to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the penumbral lunar eclipse will peak in Europe, Asia, and Africa at 7:09 pm UTC. It should hang around for four hours, so people living there can see a rare penumbral eclipse of the moon.

Here is a list of some cities in the eclipse-zone, when a dark shadow moves across the Moon:

London: 7:10 p.m. on January 10

Mainland Europe: 8:10 p.m. on January 10

Cairo: 9:10 p.m. on January 10

Moscow: 10:10 p.m. on January 10

Dubai: 11:10:02 p.m. on January 10

New Delhi: 12:40 a.m. on January 11

Shanghai: 3:10 a.m. on January 11

Perth: 3:10 a.m. on January 11

How you can see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse”

If it’s not visible from your country, but you want to see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse”, you actually can. You can watch a live stream of the event by The Virtual Telescope Project in Rome, Italy starting at 5 pm.

A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are not perfectly aligned. You can notice it when the Moon passes through part of Earth’s penumbra, darkening the Sun’s light.

All things considered, you should know where the name“Wolf Moon Eclipse” comes from. It’s a Native American tradition that wolves were heard to howl at the first Full Moon of the year. They did it because of the hunger provoked by a cold winter.