The sun, moon and Earth will align twice in the next month and create a lunar eclipse on May 26 and a solar eclipse on June 10. But you will have to be in the right place at the right time to see them.
Lunar eclipse
A total lunar eclipse is one of the coolest astronomical events to witness. The Earth comes between the sun and moon and casts its shadow onto the lunar surface. When the moon completely enters the shadow of the Earth, it turns eerie shades of orange and red.
The next total lunar eclipse will be on the morning of May 26. But it will only be visible from some parts of the country. The Earth’s shadow will first appear on the Moon at 5:44 a.m. EDT. For viewers on the East Coast and Southeastern U.S., the moon will have already set and they will not be able to see any of the eclipse.
The farther west you live, the more you will see. Skywatchers in the Midwest and Central Time Zone will see the beginning of the lunar eclipse and experience only a portion of the moon blocked out. But in the Mountain and Pacific states, viewers will have a chance to see a total lunar eclipse and witness the lunar landscape bathed in ghostly reddish light.
Totality will be a brief 14 minutes – from 7:11-7:25 a.m. EDT. And then the Earth’s shadow will slowly wipe away from the moon. The visible portion of the eclipse will end at 8:52 a.m. EDT, and the lunar surface will return to its normal brilliance.
The view from Cincinnati
- Cincinnatians will see only a partial lunar eclipse on May 26.
- 5:44 a.m. Partial eclipse begins.
- 6:19 a.m. Moon sets with only 1/3 of the moon in eclipse.
Partial solar eclipse
Like the lunar eclipse two weeks earlier, you have to be in the right place at the right time to observe the solar eclipse on June 10.
It will not be a total solar eclipse (like the one on Aug. 21, 2017) because the moon will be too far from the Earth to cover the entire Sun. Instead, the moon will appear to sit inside the sun with a ring of sunlight poring around the lunar mountains. This is called an annular or a “ring of fire” eclipse. Annularity will only be visible from northern Canada, Greenland and Russia.
However, Americans can still see part of the sun blocked out by the moon – a partial solar eclipse. Parts of Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia will see a small portion of the eclipsed sun as well as Pennsylvania, New York and New England. The sun will rise in partial eclipse, but you will only have a matter of minutes to spot it before the moon slides out of way soon after sunrise.
Do not look at the partial solar eclipse without proper safety protection or your eyesight could be damaged. To view safely, use only certified solar eclipse glasses.
The view from Cincinnati
- Cincinnatians will see a partial solar eclipse on June 10.
- 6:12 a.m. Sun rises in partial eclipse with only 1/4 of the Sun in eclipse.
- 6:33 a.m. Partial solar eclipse ends.
Eclipse chasing
People who venture away from home in search of better views of eclipses are called eclipse chasers. They use their vacation time to travel all around the world and experience exotic locales while also catching glimpses of the greatest shows in the universe.
If you live in a part of the country where you can’t see one or both upcoming eclipses, you can head west on May 26 and northeast on June 10. Or you can be patient and wait for the next eclipse. On Nov. 19, we will have another lunar eclipse – one that will be visible across the entire United States. But why wait? The chase is on!
Dean Regas is the Astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory, and author of the books 100 Things to See in the Night Sky and Facts from Space! He can be reached at dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org.
Class: Lunar and Solar Eclipses
Online class with the Cincinnati Observatory.
What: Astronomer Dean Regas shares his tips to view the lunar eclipse on May 26 and the solar eclipse on June 10. The recording of this class is available for purchase.
When: Available now on-demand and online.
Tickets: $10 per household.
Information: cincinnatiobservatory.org/events.
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