Thunder Moon will rise on July 4 and turn into a partial penumbral eclipse

Forget the fireworks! Thunder Moon will rise on July 4 and pass through Earth’s shadow providing a partial penumbral eclipse

  • On July 4 at 8:14pm ET, a Thunder Moon will rise over North and South America
  • It’s a full moon, but was given its name because July is known for thunder storms 
  • Two hours and 45 minutes later, the world will see a partial penumbral eclipse
  • The full moon will drift into Earth’s shadow and part of its surface will go dark 

Space is set to put on an out of this world show in celebration of America’s Independence Day.

On July 4, a Thunder Moon will appear at 8:14pm ET and reach its peak at 12:44am ET Sunday, providing a partial penumbral eclipse.

The name comes from the summer storms that occur around July’s full moon, but is also referred to as the ‘Buck Moon’ because male deer lose their antlers this month.

The moon will pass into Earth’s outer shadow, which will cover one third of its surface, which will be visible through the Americas but may be easily missed without some type of telescope.

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On July 4, a Thunder Moon will appear at 8:14pm ET and reach its peak at 12:44am ET Sunday, providing a partial penumbral eclipse. Pictured is a Thunder Moon from 2018

On July 4, a Thunder Moon will appear at 8:14pm ET and reach its peak at 12:44am ET Sunday, providing a partial penumbral eclipse. Pictured is a Thunder Moon from 2018

A penumbral eclipse typically appears when the Earth is between the sun and a full moon.

The moon will pass into Earth’s shadow as it orbits the planet some 870,000 miles away, which will shroud part of its surface in darkness.

And if you miss this one another one will pass over North America on November 30, but is called a ‘Frosty Moon Eclipse.’

Jupiter and Saturn will also join the Thunder Moon on the night of July 4.

The moon will pass into Earth's outer shadow, which will cover one third of its surface, which will be visible through the Americas but may be easily missed without some type of telescope

The moon will pass into Earth’s outer shadow, which will cover one third of its surface, which will be visible through the Americas but may be easily missed without some type of telescope

The full moon will be seen close to the brightest planet, Jupiter, and the ringed planet as well – but EarthSky notes you will need a telescope to see the rings of Saturn.

The Thunder Moon will be a two-part event – the moonrise and its ‘maximum eclipse.’

On the eastern part of the US, the best time to look up will be after 8:23pm ET on July 4 and in Los Angeles skygazers would want to turn their eyes to space after 8:06pm PT – for the rise of the Thunder Moon. 

The eclipse, which will be seen all across the globe, will appear approximately two hours and 45 minutes after the moon initially rises.

On June 21, a dramatic ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse appeared in the skies above Africa and Asia this morning as the Earth, Moon and Sun aligned.

The eclipse was visible to people on about two per cent of the Earth’s surface, astronomer at the Paris Observatory Florent Delefie said.

The full moon will be seen close to the brightest planet, Jupiter, and the ringed planet as well

The full moon will be seen close to the brightest planet, Jupiter, and the ringed planet as well

‘It’s a bit like switching from a 500-watt to a 30-watt light bulb,’ he said. ‘It’s a cold light and you don’t see as well.’

Other areas were able to only see the light draining out of the sky as the eclipse took place over a period of nearly four hours.

The display, dubbed an annular eclipse, happens when the Moon is at the furthest point from Earth in its orbit, meaning it only blocks out 99 per cent of the sun’s light and creating the burning ‘ring’.

The eclipse was first spotted in the northeastern Republic of Congo from 5:56am local time , just a few minutes after sunrise, before reaching a perfect ‘halo’ over Uttarakhand, India, at 12:10pm local time. 

The last place able to view the spectacle was Taiwan.

source: dailymail.co.uk