The phenomenon will see the moon turning a shade of red… 

Stargazers, take note. There’s going to be a stunning partial eclipse of the moon on the night of Tuesday, July 16, 2019 which will see the surface of the moon turning a shade of red.

The eclipse is expected at 10.43pm and will last about five hours, moving into the early morning of Wednesday, July 17, 2019.

The best time to catch the event according to experts is at 1.30am when the eclipse will be at its peak, so save yourself the crick in your neck and start your star gazing experience around that time.

It’s going to be the last lunar eclipse for a while, with the next one not expected until May 26, 2021 which is when a total eclipse is going to take place.

The best news, we have clear skies predicted tonight.

Time to get scientific… 

The red moon phenomenon is caused when the earth moves between the sun and the full moon but the three bodies aren’t exactly aligned.

The moon’s visible surface moves into the dark part of the earth shadow causing it to darken but not disappear. The little sunlight passing through the earth’s atmosphere will light up the moon, turning it a shade red.

Astronomers anticipate that the Earth’s shadow will fall across 60 per cent of the moon tonight.

Take note, looking an eclipse of the moon is absolutely safe to view, so you won’t need any special glasses or the like to catch this occurrence.

Where to catch the eclipse?  

Abu Dhabi: Al Sadeem Astronomy Observatory located in Al Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi is hosting an open house, where visitors can use professional telescopes from 10pm until 3am.

Dubai: Head with the Dubai Astronomy Group in Mushrif Park to catch the partial eclipse.

Sharjah: Sharjah Centre for Astronomy has also opened its doors to the public from 9pm on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 until 2am on Wednesday, July 17, 2019.
Happy stargazing, everyone!

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