A Lunar Eclipse Will Make May’s Full Moon a Blood Moon!

Whenever celestial events like this occur, I can’t help but think how people hundreds of years ago lost their dang minds!

The Forrest Preserve District of Will County did a great preview of this month’s lunar eclipse. In it they said the moon will appear to take on a deep red hue because of the shadow of the Earth being cast upon the moon. It will happen the evening of May 15th into the 16th. In Illinois, the eclipse will begin at 8:32 p.m. May 15. The early stages of the eclipse will result in a slight darkening of the moon, but you may not even notice any obvious changes until the later stages, NASA reports. As it progresses, one side of the moon will be dark, looking as though someone took a bite out if it. The eclipse will reach its peak — the point of totality, when Earth’s shadow is fully cast on the moon — at 11:11 p.m. This is when the moon will look red in the night sky — if the weather cooperates, of course. After the period of totality, the moon will begin to emerge from Earth’s shadow gradually until the eclipse ends at 1:51 p.m. Just like the eclipse begins with just slight changes in the moon’s appearance, the end will be subtle as well.

The May eclipse will be the first of two this year, but it’s the best eclipse viewing opportunity for those of us in northern Illinois. The second eclipse of the year will be November 7 into 8, but only partial phases of it will be visible in the eastern United States, National Geographic reports.

The article went on to talk about more celestial events we can expect in the near future. Check it out!