Although Malaysians continue to be stuck at home due to the rising cases of Covid-19, we can look forward to a special event that doesn’t happen often – a Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse!
According to the Guardian, this is the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years that coincides with a supermoon this week for quite a cosmic show.
The Super Flower Blood Moon will be visible on Wednesday across the Pacific – offering the best viewing – as well as the western half of North America, the bottom of South America, and Eastern Asia.
The total eclipse will last about 15 minutes as Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun. But the entire show will last five hours, as Earth’s shadow gradually covers the moon, then starts to ebb. The reddish-orange colour is the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected on to the surface of the eclipsed moon.
Watch The Super Flower Blood Moon Live
According to the Malaysian Space Agency, the lunar eclipse will happen on 26 May when the moon is closest to the earth at a distance of 357,309km and the event is expected to happen from 4:47pm to 9:50 pm.
Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak will be able to see the phenomenon when it reaches partial eclipse while for most areas in the rest of Malaysia will be able to see the lunar eclipse when it reaches its maximum phase.
Based on phases of the moon and if there is any bad weather, the Super Flower Blood Moon should be visible at around 7:13pm Malaysian time.
If you’d like, you can catch the Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse virtually on Wednesday (May 26) through a live-streaming session run by the National Planetarium.
The livestream session is slated to start at 6.30pm on Wednesday and will be hosted on the National Planetarium’s Facebook page and YouTube channel as the observation gallery is closed during the movement control order.
