Partial lunar eclipse on New Year's eve

There will be a full moon on New Year’s eve skimming through the northern edge of the earth's shadow in early evening undergoing a partial eclipse, an event that can be easily viewed by the naked eye.

The Malta Astronomical Socity said that this was only a minor partial eclipse as only eight per cent of the moon’s diameter would be within the dark region of the earth’s shadow at the time of maximum eclipse, 8:23 p.m. Central European Time (CET).

A larger portion of the moon’s disk would be more gently shaded by the vague, fuzzy fringe of the earth’s shadow.

During this partial phase, binoculars or a telescope might reveal the eclipsed edge of the moon dimly glowing brown or grey.

This would be light from the sunrises and sunsets in the earth’s arctic region, which an observer on the moon would see as a bright red-orange line along the edge of the earth.

www.maltastro.org