It is an exceptional celestial spectacle which the astronomy enthusiasts of the Pacific region attended on Wednesday, May 26: a magnificent super moon was visible from Australia to central North America during a lunar eclipse. total.
Fans were able to discover - of course that the sky was clear - an enormous bright red-orange moon: in the evening in Sydney, before dawn in Los Angeles, when this star was entirely found in the sky. shadow of the Earth.
Unlike a solar eclipse, this phenomenon does not present any danger to the eyesight.
Supermoon eclipse sneaking behind the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco.
pic.twitter.com/fKiOOJUafc
- Karl Mondon (@karlmondon) May 26, 2021
This occurred between 11:11 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. GMT, when this first total lunar eclipse in two years coincided, as happens once a decade, with the moment when the Moon was at its perigee, the point closest to our planet.
The color of the lunar star then darkened to become red, reminiscent of the lights visible at the time of sunrise or sunset.
Fairly close to Earth, 360,000 km away, the Moon appeared 30% brighter and 14% larger than at its furthest point, 50,000 km away.
This is the moon that some lucky people around the world were able to see today (here in New Delhi) đ€€đ
(We have the rain). # Supermoon pic.twitter.com/FciYXInDZO
- Manon Mella (@ManonMella) May 26, 2021
Next meeting in 2033
In Sydney, where the visibility was very good, the curious gathered along the harbor.
The Super-Moon dances on the famous roof of the Sydney Opera House in Australia, May 26, 2021 © Saeed Khan, AFP
Australian airline Qantas, meanwhile, has organized a unique two-and-a-half-hour flight, the Supermoon Scenic Flight.
The plane left Sydney east, over the Pacific, to offer a breathtaking view to the privileged on board.
In Hong Kong, on the other hand, clouds partially obscured the sky when the event occurred.
âIt's not as red as I thought,â commented Chui Yiu-chun, a young student at the port.
The Super Moon in the sky of Hong Kong, May 26, 2021 © Anthony Wallace, AFP
The super moon was also visible in some European countries but did not necessarily have the red-orange hue that one could observe in the sky of the Pacific.
The #FlowerMoon #Supermoon rising behind the Temple of Poseidon in Athens (Greece) this evening đ pic.twitter.com/nRkImy8BuK
- BBC Weather (@bbcweather) May 26, 2021
Eclipses, whether lunar or solar, have not always been so warmly received.
In many cultures they were even considered a bad omen, especially among the Incas, while some Australian Aboriginal communities saw them as a sign that someone who left had been injured or killed.
Those who missed Wednesday's show will have to wait until 2033 to witness the next âBlood Moon,â as Americans call it.
With AFP
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