The lunar eclipse will peak tomorrow (Tuesday, July 16) when the Full Moon lights up the nightside of Earth. The eclipse will unfold in the late evening hours when the glowing orb of the Moon partially dips into the shadow cast by the Earth. But the astronomical event is incredible for another coincidental reason – July 16 happens to be the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 launch. Both events taking place on the same date offer astronomy enthusiasts a wonderful reason to stay up tomorrow night.
What time is the partial lunar eclipse on July 16?
The eclipse will start in the late evening hours UK time when the Moon slowly creeps into the Earth’s darkest shadow or umbra.
According to US space agency NASA, the eclipse will peak around 10.31pm BST (9.31pm UTC).
The peak will mark the midway point of the eclipse after which the Moon will slowly move out of the shadow.
From start to finish, the astronomical phenomenon will last more than five hours.
Partial eclipsing, however, will only happen between 9pm BST (8pm UTC) and midnight BST (11pm UTC).
The partial eclipse will be followed and preceded by so-called penumbral eclipsing.
The penumbra is a lighter shadow cast around the edges of the planet.
In most cases, penumbral eclipsing is not dark enough to notice any visible difference from a regular Full Moon.
What happened on July 16, 1969?
July 16 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic launch of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.
Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the Moon
NASA
On this day 50 years ago, three astronauts boarded a Saturn V rocket to escape the clutches of Earth’s gravity on a mission to the Moon.
The three astronauts were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
The American astronauts would spend three days in space before safely reaching the Moon.
Then, on July 20, 1969, Commander Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Aldrin descended to the Moon’s surface.
NASA said: “On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the Moon.
“He and Aldrin walked around for three hours. They did experiments. They picked up bits of Moon dirt and rocks.
“They put a US flag on the Moon. They also left a sign on the Moon.
“The two astronauts returned to orbit, joining Collins. On July 24, 1969, all three astronauts came back to Earth safely.”
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