Red Moon Rising and the Northern Lights

On Sunday September 7^th there will be the chance to see the last Lunar Eclipse of the year. To see the event, you need to be looking towards the east or southeast horizon at around 7.30pm. And there is more, the Northern Lights might be visible as well.

An eclipse of the Moon occurs when the moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth. The Moon does not shine it reflects the sunlight that strikes it. Moonlight is reflected sunlight.

When the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow light from the Sun can still reach it buy passing through the atmosphere of the Earth, however the blue end of the spectrum is blocked by the atmosphere while the red end passes through, this means that the normal white coloured moon turns into a wonderful coppery red coloured moon.

Although totality for this eclipse lasts 82 minutes which will be seen in some parts of the world, in Britain, we will see the very end of the total phase as the Moon rises. Moonrise is at around 7.30pm at about the same time that totality finishes, however for the next hour or so it will still be possible to see a slightly less red looking partially eclipsed moon rising in the sky.

You will need a very clear east or southeast horizon to see the eclipse any hills trees of large buildings will block your view.

And as if that was not enough for one evening the Sun on September 4^th unleashed a CME or Coronal Mass Ejection which is a mass ejection of magnetic material that is scheduled to hit the Earth on the evening of September 7^th later in the evening after the eclipse.

If we are lucky we might an eclipse of the Moon and  a display of the Northern Lights all on one evening To see the Northern Lights look  after about 9.30pm to the north and you might see the northern lights.

If it is cloudy on Sunday evening both the eclipse and the Northern Lights may not be seen.

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