After the solar eclipse that occurred during the afternoon-night of last Saturday and that could be seen in the main regions of South America and Antarctica, May arrives with a new lunar calendar in which the main novelty will occur in the middle of the fifth month of the year.
The month of May begins with a new moon. A phase in which the terrestrial satellite is not visible from our planet, since does not reflect light, and it will last until the May 9. As of this date, according to the National Geographic Institute (IGN), the satellite enters first quarternamely, Only 50% of the Moon’s surface will be illuminated visible from Earth. In the northern hemisphere the right half will light up and in the southern hemisphere the left half will light up.
Later, in the middle of the month of May, the event most awaited by astronomy fans and experts arrives. It will be his turn total lunar eclipsewhat will coincide with the arrival of the full moon next May 16. This phenomenon occurs when the entire Moon is obscured from its visibility on Earth. In this case, the Moon enters the threshold zone of the Earth completely, and turns a reddish color.
As collected by the IGN on his website, the total lunar eclipse can be seen throughout Spain, although it will occur before dawn. Its phase of totality will begin around 05:20 hours, and will end around 06:40 hours. From the organism they point out that observing this phenomenon does not require any type of special instrumentation, unlike solar eclipses, where special filters, telescopes or binoculars are required.
In fact, in the peninsular northeast and in the Balearic Islands the Moon will set before the eclipse ends, compared to the rest of the country, where the eclipse can be seen in its entirety. In the Canary Islands, for example, it will be possible to observe how the Moon leaves the shadow of our planet, as explained by the IGN.
The next total lunar eclipse, in October 2023
The moon will enter last quarter next May 22, while the month will end on a new moon, just like earlier this month. A phase that will begin on May 30. Starting in June, the next lunar calendar will start with the moon in the first quarter.
Regarding the total lunar eclipse, it will be the next astronomical event of these characteristics to occur since 2019, in the month of July. The next It will take place in the month of October of the year 2023.