Here’s How To See The Super Flower Blood Moon

Astronomy enthusiasts, listen up - there's a major event taking place over the night skies this week.

The super flower blood moon is coming, and it's the only total lunar eclipse of 2021 so it's not to be missed.

Occurring on average very two-and-a-half years (so if you miss this one, you won't be catching another until 2023!) a blood moon happens when the Earth begins to align itself between the moon and the sun.

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As sunlight travels through the Earth's atmosphere, blue light is scattered and then bent as it focuses on the moon.

This in turn gives it a deep, reddish hue - hence the name 'blood moon'.

The flower part of a 'super flower blood moon' comes from Earth's plentiful greenery in the Northern hemisphere during this period.

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So how can we go about seeing it?

Well, the main event is taking place between May 25^th to May 27^th this year, but before you start polishing your telescopes, we have some unfortunate news for those reading in the UK.

Only onlookers in Asia, Australia, South America and large swathes of the United States will be able to see the phenomenon, which will take place between 08:47:39 UTC to 13:49:41 UTC and peak at 11:19:52 UTC.

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While the beautiful celestial display will only be at its most gorgeous for 14 minutes, NASA has confirmed that the entirety of the super flower blood moon event lasts around five hours.

Those in Asia will catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse in the early evening when the moon first rises.

For those on the west, the eclipse will be seen in the early morning when the moon starts to set.

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If you're based in the UK are you are desperate to see the super flower blood moon, then fear not.

The Virtual Telescope Project will be live streaming on May 26, 2021, at 3am Pacific Time - which is around 10am over here.

Astronomer Tom Kerss, host of the Star Signs: Go Stargazing! podcast, explained to the Daily Express: "This week's headline act comes courtesy of the Moon, although it's not available for everyone.

"On Wednesday, the Full Flower Moon is going to pass into the shadow of Earth, creating an eclipse that will cast deep red light across its face.

"This is just barely a total lunar eclipse as the entirety of the Moon will sit inside the deep umbral shadow of the Earth during the maximum moment, which is at 11.18am in the morning, Greenwich Meantime.

Topics: Life News, News, Life, space

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

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