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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Howard Lloyd

How to watch the Flower Moon lunar eclipse this evening

A lunar eclipse will be visible this evening for many people around the world as the moon enters the outer edge of Earth's shadow. It will mean that, for billions of people, it will turn much darker.

This particular type of lunar eclipse is known as penumbral, meaning people will be able to see the face of the moon darken without completely disappearing. It occurs when the Earth comes between the sun and the moon, meaning light is blocked from reaching the moon's surface.

People across large parts of Africa, Asia, Australia and even Antarctica will have the chance to see it. It is due to start at around 4.14pm BST tonight (Friday, May 5) and end at 8.31pm, peaking at 6.22pm.

Like all lunar eclipses, this event will occur as the sun, Earth and the moon are aligned in a straight line. It will not be as dramatic as a total eclipse, in which the moon's face becomes completely darkened. Instead, there will be a dark grey or brownish shadow across a portion of the face of the moon, covering up to 94.6 per cent of the moon at the eclipse's peak.

"The shadow of a planet produces an umbral and penumbral shadow depending on the location of the planet and the Sun," professor Don Pollacco of the University of Warwick told MailOnline.

"The darkest eclipses occur when the moon moves through the Earth's umbral shadow. A penumbral eclipse occurs as the moon moving through the shadow of the Earth."

Unfortunately, for people in much of Europe - including the UK - the effects of the eclipse will not be visible. Luckily, the Virtual Telescope Project will host a free livestream of the lunar eclipse of the full Flower Moon beginning at 7.45pm BST) on Friday (May 5). The livestream will be available on the project's website or YouTube channel.

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