The last total lunar eclipse in the UK could be seen over three years ago, in January 2019. 2022’s first lunar eclipse will be visible in many parts of the world, stretching from the Americas to parts of Europe and Africa.
Although the first stage of the eclipse, the penumbral phase, began just after 2:30am on Monday, May 16, keen telescope users could still hope to spot this rare event into the later hours of the morning. While this first stage created a more subtle darkening effect, the second stage, the umbral eclipse, is when you can see the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow passing across the lunar surface.
That part began at around 3:30am, eventually culminating in a fully eclipsed moon. Those watching and waiting in anticipation for the resulting super blood moon got the best view from 3:29am, the moment the event of the full lunar eclipse started and became visible in the Western hemisphere.
Read more: Places where you can watch the night sky in Merseyside
This lasted for almost one and a half hours, with the only sunlight reaching the moon being passed through the Earth’s atmosphere turning red. The latest blood moon eclipse may now be behind us but there are still ways for Brits to see this rare occurrence.
Where to see it
Because of the moon beginning to set, sightings of the blood moon in Europe were sparse as it was only visible for some of that time. However, in the Americas, areas under clear skies were treated to the full spectacle.
Although you may have missed the opportunity to witness it in person, NASA live-streamed the event on YouTube. Streamed in the early hours of the morning, the video, just shy of an hour in length, has now had over two million views and still allows people to watch it from the comfort of their own homes at a more satisfactory time.
What is a lunar eclipse?
A total lunar eclipse is when the Earth comes between the sun and the moon, in turn blocking the sun's direct rays from lighting up the moon. It is often called a blood moon due to the dark red colour it appears to be.
According to the Royal Observatory, this happens because “it is illuminated by light that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and has been bent back towards the moon by refraction”. Total eclipses only occur when there is a full moon and the moon is at (or very near) a lunar node - when the sun, the moon and the Earth are aligned in a straight line.
Experts were calling last night's lunar eclipse a super flower blood moon because the full moon was occurring near its pedigree, or closest point to Earth in its orbit, adopting the super moon nickname as a result. As for the flower, each month's full moon has its own unique name, and in the month of May, the flower moon takes to the skies - according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, next month's moon is traditionally called the strawberry moon
Roughly, a total lunar eclipse happens at least twice every three years.
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