Between the night of August 27 and dawn on August 28, a partial lunar eclipse was observed in the skies over Brazil and Latin America, with the moonlight changing to orange and reddish hues.
Even if the colors in the photographs are intense, this phenomenon cannot immediately be considered a total lunar eclipse.
Before looking at the moon’s color, what must be determined is how far Earth’s shadow covered the lunar disk.
3-Line Summary
1. A partial lunar eclipse was observed in Brazil and Latin America
2. The entire moon did not enter the umbra
3. A reddish color alone does not make it a total lunar eclipse
A Small Strip of the Lunar Disk Remained in the Penumbra
According to reporting by Brazilian outlet VEJA, a partial lunar eclipse could be seen in Brazil and Latin America from the night of August 27 through dawn on August 28. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth is positioned between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow behind Earth onto the moon. Simply saying that the moon enters the space behind Earth does not make it clear how much of it was covered this time.
The darkest area within Earth’s shadow is the umbra. Whether the entire lunar disk enters the umbra or only part of it is affected, the visible appearance differs even when the eclipse is of the same general type. VEJA explained that this event was a partial lunar eclipse, not a total lunar eclipse.
The point especially highlighted in the report was that a small strip of the lunar disk was not completely covered by the umbra and remained in the penumbra. The penumbra differs from the umbra, where sunlight is completely blocked. Therefore, the moon may be observed not as entirely immersed in darkness, but as a scene in which its brightness and hue change from one side.
It is clear that part of the moon darkened, but that does not mean the entire moon entered the darkest shadow. When understanding this scene, it is more accurate to consider the extent of the coverage alongside the simple statement that “the moon was covered.” The phenomenon reported by VEJA continued for several hours and ended by morning.
The Red Name of the “Blood Moon” and This Event’s Orange Hue
A moon that has turned red is sometimes called a “blood moon.” VEJA reported that reddish hues appearing during a lunar eclipse are generally characteristic of a total lunar eclipse, in which the entire moon enters the umbra. The conditions that can produce a strong red color are connected to the classification of the eclipse, but they do not mean the same thing.
This time, the conditions did not necessarily produce a deep red color. Even so, the moon displayed orange hues. Photographs shared from various places around the world captured the change, but the color of a photograph itself does not determine the type of lunar eclipse.
The name of the color is eye-catching, but the key to the classification in the reports is how the moon was positioned within the shadow. It is necessary to distinguish whether the entire lunar disk was inside the umbra or whether part of it remained in the penumbra. This case shows that even a moon that appears red can be a partial lunar eclipse.
Sorocaba’s Camera and Itapetininga’s Livestream
According to reporting by Brazilian news outlet G1, in Sorocaba, in Brazil’s São Paulo state, reporter Antônio Walter Barberu photographed this lunar eclipse with a digital camera. He used a camera with an optical zoom and explained that the moon could move out of the frame or lose focus while the zoom was being adjusted.
His method was to brace the camera against his nose and keep his elbows against his torso to hold its position steady. In a situation where he had to find the moon again each time he moved, he composed the shot by fixing the positions of both the camera and his body. Keeping the movable viewfinder close to eye level and creating a support point shows that maintaining focus and suppressing camera shake, as well as capturing the moon’s color change, was part of the photography.
In Itapetininga, in the same São Paulo state, the Centauri astronomy club livestreamed the observation through social media. The broadcast, recorded by Rodrigo Rafa, a physics teacher and club official, was arranged so that people who had difficulty viewing the sky directly or following the observation could watch it as well.
G1 reported that the broadcast reached more than 6만2천 people and ended at dawn shortly after the peak of the eclipse. Rafa said viewers noticed the change as the reddish color appeared while the shadow covered the moon. Viewers interpreted it in different ways—as celestial motion, the beauty of nature, or religious significance—but the classification of the phenomenon confirmed in the article is a partial lunar eclipse.
The fact that the search term was observed in Brazil does not indicate the event’s location or the location of the reporting outlet. The places confirmed as actual locations in this article are Brazil and Latin America, along with Sorocaba and Itapetininga in São Paulo state. Even when remembering the red color in the photographs, the most accurate description of this event is a partial lunar eclipse in which part, rather than the entire moon, was affected by Earth’s shadow.
References
Tags #PartialLunarEclipse #LunarEclipse #MoonLunarEclipse #LuaEclipseLunar #luaeclipselunar #BloodMoon #BrazilLunarEclipse #EarthsShadow #Umbra #Penumbra #MoonPhotography #AstronomicalPhenomenon