The earth will be treated to one of the captivating celestial phenomenon on September 27 through to 28, when the lunar moon comes calling.
For Nigerians, the show will be celestial will be visible September 28, according to the National Space Research and Development Agency.
NASRDA said in a statement on Thursday that Abuja, Lagos and several other cities and towns across the country, would experience the lunar eclipse on September 28.eclipse
According to the statement by the agency’s Deputy Director of Media and Corporate Communications Dr. Felix Ale, the lunar eclipse would begin on Monday 28, at 1:11a.m, local time and will be at its maximum by 3:47 a.m. local time, with its final contact by 6:22a.m.
The Agency explains that the lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the earth comes in-between the sun and the moon, and the earth cast its shadow on the moon, so that the moon appear reddish.
“The lunar eclipse which is also called the blood moon will be observed in some regions around the world.
“Some of the regions seeing at least some parts of the eclipse include, Europe, South-east Asia, Africa, much of North America, much of South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic, and Antarctica,” it said.
Ale noted that the lunar eclipse would be viewed in Nigeria especially in locations with the absence of cloud cover.
Therefore, the lunar eclipse will be visible in Abuja, and would begin from 1:11a.m, with total eclipse at 3:47a.m, and end by 6:22a.m.
The agency advised Nigerians “not to panic, and to go about their normal activities as it is just an astronomical event which will last for 5 hours 11 minutes.”
Who will see the September 27-28 total lunar eclipse?
According to EarthSky, The September 2015 full moon passes directly through Earth’s dark (umbral) shadow. The total part of this eclipse lasts for 72 minutes. A partial umbral eclipse precedes totality by some 64 minutes, and follows totality by about the same period of time, so the moon takes about 3 and 1/3 hours to completely sweep through the Earth’s dark shadow.
North America, South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Greenland, Europe, Africa and the Middle East are in a good position worldwide to watch the total eclipse of the moon. If you live in the Americas, the total eclipse happens after sunset September 27. In the world’s eastern hemisphere, the total eclipse happens after midnight and before sunrise September 28.
A very light penumbral eclipse comes before and after the dark (umbral) stage of the lunar eclipse. But this sort of eclipse is so faint that many people won’t even notice it. The penumbral eclipse would be more fun to watch from the moon, where it would be seen as a partial eclipse of the sun.
Who will see the partial lunar eclipse on September 27? A partial lunar eclipse may be visible in the haze of evening dusk on September 27 from the extreme northwestern portion of North America (western Alaska). A partial lunar eclipse might also be observed in the haze of morning dawn (September 28) from far-western Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, eastern Iran)