November total lunar eclipse timeline
The moon moves right to left, passing through the penumbra and umbra, leaving in its wake an eclipse diagram with the times at various stages of the eclipse. Times are shown in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). (Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio)
Fall is the perfect season for skygazing almost anywhere in the U.S., with cooler temperatures and clear skies to find your favorite constellations.
On Nov. 8, the Sun, Earth and moon will align so that the Earth’s shadow eclipses the moon. It will be the last total lunar eclipse until March 2025. However, according to NASA, there will be some partial and penumbral eclipses in the meantime.
Lunar eclipse totality will be visible to North and Central America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
TIPS ON HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH THE MOON
In the U.S., those in the West will have the best opportunity to view the eclipse because totality begins at 5:17 a.m. ET or 2:17 a.m. PT. This means that by 6:42 a.m., the sun will be up when totality ends on the East Coast, while the West Coast won’t compete with sunlight just yet.
A lunar eclipse is often called a blood moon because, during an eclipse, the only sunlight reaching the moon passes through Earth’s atmosphere, causing red light — which has a longer wavelength than blue light — to cast a reddish glow on the lunar surface
The Moon goes all red, plus Leonid meteors!
The Leonids will battle against moonlight this year, but anyone with a view of the Moon in the a.m. on Nov. 8 can enjoy a lunar eclipse.
- November 8 – Full moon
- November 8 – Total lunar eclipse in the hours before sunrise
- November 11 – The Moon appears directly between Mars and bright blue-white star Elnath in the west before sunrise
- November 20 – In the hour before sunrise, find the crescent Moon above bright star Spica in the southeast
- November 18 – Look straight overhead for Leonid meteors after midnight. The Moon is about 35% full, and will diminish the fainter meteors.
- November 23 – New moon
- November 28 – The crescent Moon hangs beneath Saturn in the southwest after sunset
- All month – The Leonid meteor shower is active throughout November, and peaks between midnight and dawn on the 18th.
Here are the phases of the Moon for November.
Stay up to date with all of NASA’s missions to explore the solar system and beyond at nasa.gov. I’m Preston Dyches from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s What’s Up for this month.
