The full moon is being “nibbled on”: a partial lunar eclipse is coming at the end of October. An event that impressively reveals the mechanisms of our solar system.
Frankfurt – When Earth’s umbra passes over the full moon on October 28th, no dramatic red blood moon will be visible. The eclipse of the moon is only enough for a partial lunar eclipse – but even this is an impressive spectacle that illustrates the mechanisms of our solar system: The Earth positions itself between the sun and the moon and casts its shadow into space. When this shadow brushes against the full moon, it appears as if part of it is “bitten off.”
It is important to distinguish between two types of shadows: When the Earth’s penumbra crosses the Moon, this is hardly noticeable with the naked eye – pure penumbral eclipses are therefore rather unspectacular. However, when the Earth’s umbra reaches the Moon, it is visible to the naked eye. This is the case on October 28th, although the umbra only covers a small percentage of the moon’s surface – a partial lunar eclipse can be observed.
Partial lunar eclipse on October 28, 2023: celestial spectacle is easy to miss
If you don’t look closely, you might even miss this celestial spectacle – unlike the stunning annular solar eclipse that was seen across parts of the US on October 14th. The timing of the partial lunar eclipse on October 28th is favorable for observers as it begins at around 8 p.m. At this point, the full moon has already been in the sky for about two hours and has therefore reached a decent height above the horizon.
| Moonrise: | around 6:00 p.m. (depending on location) |
| Moon enters penumbra: | 8:00 p.m. (CEST) on October 28, 2023 |
| Moon enters the umbra: | 9:35 p.m |
| Partial lunar eclipse maximum: | 10:14 p.m |
| Moon emerges from umbra: | 10:53 p.m |
| Moon emerges from penumbra: | 12:28 a.m. on October 29, 2023 |
| Moonset: | around 8 a.m. on October 29, 2023 (depending on location) |
| Sources: VdS/timeandate.de |
The Earth’s umbra hits the Moon at 9:35 p.m. – from this point onwards the lunar eclipse is clearly visible. The moon is already maximally darkened at 10:14 p.m., and at 10:53 p.m. the full moon emerges from the umbra again. But even after that, observing the moon and the night sky is still worthwhile. The moon with its many craters is a fascinating object to observe even with small binoculars – you just have to remember that the numerous clearly visible craters on its surface were created by meteorite impacts.
The moon is “accompanied” by the planet Jupiter during the partial lunar eclipse
The moon’s environment in the sky is also interesting. Just below the full moon, a bright “star” accompanies the moon on its journey across the sky. This supposed star is Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system and the second brightest planet in our night sky. Even with small binoculars you can see Jupiter’s four largest moons, the so-called Galilean moons, which appear to “dance” around Jupiter during the night.
During the partial lunar eclipse, Jupiter’s moons Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Io can be seen around Jupiter. Over the course of the night, the moon Io disappears behind its planet to reappear on the other side in the early morning. After observing such phenomena, Galileo Galilei realized at the beginning of the 17th century that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around. By the way, the Italian also observed the moon – his pen drawing of the lunar surface made him suddenly famous in 1610. (tab)
Machine assistance was used for this article written by the editorial team. The article was carefully checked by editor Tanja Banner before publication.
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