If you’re a fan of stargazing, make sure you set your alarm for tonight, as a partial lunar eclipse is forecast to appear in skies across the UK.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth comes between the sun and the moon , blocking the sunlight from reaching the lunar surface.
Tonight’s event is a partial lunar eclipse, meaning only part of Earth’s shadow will be covering the moon.
During the event, the moon may appear slightly red in colour, in which case it’s known as a ‘blood moon.’
The partial lunar eclipse will begin at around 20:00 BST and will peak at about 22:30 BST, so make sure you’re looking to the skies then.
In early Native American tribes, this full moon was known as the Full Buck Moon, because the male buck deer would begin to grow new antlers at this time of year.
You may also hear this full moon referred to as the Full Thunder Moon and the Full Hay Moon.
The event will be visible from much of Europe, as well as Africa, much of Asia, parts of South America and western Australia.
Sadly for our American readers, the event will not be visible from the US.
The partial lunar eclipse coincides with the 50th anniversary of NASA ’s Apollo 11 launch.
On this day in 1969, three brave astronauts – Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins – blasted off from Florida, on a mission to the moon.
The journey took four days, after which Aldrin and Armstrong descended in a lunar lander onto the surface of the moon.
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