Total Lunar Eclipse at Moonset
The Moon slid
through Earth's shadow
on January 31, 2018 in a
total lunar eclipse.
In this time-lapse sequence of that eclipse from Portal, Arizona, USA,
the partial eclipse starts with the Moon high in the western sky.
The eclipse total phase lasted about 76 minutes,
but totality ended after the dark, reddened Moon set below
the horizon.
The upcoming
total lunar eclipse, on the night of January 20/21,
will be better placed
for skygazers
across the Americas, though.
There, all 62 minutes of the total phase, when the Moon is completely
immersed in Earth's dark umbral shadow, will take place with
the Moon above the horizon.
Watch it if you can.
The next
total lunar eclipse visible from anywhere on planet Earth won't
take place until May 26, 2021, and then
the total eclipse will last a mere 15 minutes.