How to see the lunar eclipse in Brazil this Saturday (28) – 10/27/2023 – Science

On the 14th, states in the North and Northeast regions of the country had the opportunity to follow the annular eclipse of the Sun in its entirety. This Saturday (28), there will be another natural phenomenon, the partial lunar eclipse, but again only the Northeast region will have a better view of part of the Moon being covered by the Earth’s shadow.

This will occur in the first few minutes after 5pm, at moonrise. And even then, with only 6% maximum coverage. As the satellite will be close to the horizon at this time, the recommendation is to go to a high point or find an unobstructed area with a clear view to the east for the best view of the eclipse.

And just like the last event, residents of the Southeast region will be affected by the weather, which is forecast to be closed and rainy. In São Paulo, for example, the best time to observe the penumbral eclipse will be at 6:19 pm.

This will be the moment when the eclipse will reach its greatest magnitude while the entire Moon is above the horizon in São Paulo. However, the true maximum point of the eclipse cannot be seen in the state because the Moon will be below the horizon at that time.

If the weather doesn’t help or you are in a zone without much visibility of the eclipse, the National Observatory announced that it will broadcast the event live.

For a penumbral lunar eclipse to occur, two celestial events must occur at the same time: the Moon must be in the Full Moon phase. And Sun, Earth and Moon should be nearly aligned, but not as aligned as during a partial eclipse.

“We have two types of shadow: the penumbra and the umbra. The first is a light shadow that still receives light from the Sun. When the Moon is completely immersed in this shadow, a penumbral eclipse occurs and no difference is noticed in the Moon’s brightness. umbra is the dark shadow that no longer has any luminosity from the Sun. When the Moon enters this shadow we have a partial eclipse. When it is completely immersed in the umbra, the Moon’s total eclipse occurs”, explains astronomer Josina Nascimento, from the National Observatory.

In the case of this Saturday’s lunar eclipse, Brazilians will not see the total eclipse, only in the penumbral and partial stages;

The region that will have the best visibility of the phenomenon includes the states of Ceará, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte, and part of the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maranhão and Piauí. In these locations it will be possible to observe the partial eclipse at moonrise, but the maximum coverage will be only 6%. In other locations, the eclipse will be penumbral, as the Moon will have gone through the partial phase before appearing on the horizon.

Unlike the solar eclipse, which can be total, partial or annular (when the ring of fire appears), the lunar eclipse has seven stages:

• Beginning of the penumbral eclipse: begins when the penumbral part of the Earth’s shadow begins to move over the Moon. This phase is not easily seen with the naked eye;
• Beginning of partial eclipse: Earth’s umbra begins to cover the Moon, making the eclipse more visible;
• Beginning of total eclipse: Earth’s umbra completely covers the Moon, which turns red, brown or yellow;
• Maximum eclipse: is the middle of the total eclipse;
• End of total eclipse: at this stage, the Earth’s umbra begins to move away from the Moon’s surface;
• End of partial eclipse: Earth’s umbra completely leaves the Moon’s surface; It is
• End of the penumbral eclipse: the eclipse ends and the Earth’s shadow completely moves away from the Moon.

Observing a total or partial lunar eclipse does not require special equipment. They can be safely seen with the naked eye.

In 2024, two other lunar eclipses will be visible in Brazil: a penumbral one on March 25th and a partial one between September 17th and 18th. Brazilians will only observe a total lunar eclipse again, when the Moon turns red, on March 14, 2025.