Look up, Chicago: the next full moon will appear in the sky this week.
On the evening of Friday, May 5, the next full moon, known as the “Flower Moon,” or "Hare Moon" will rise in the skies. But unfortunately for residents of North America, they’ll miss the highlight of the evening.
A “penumbral eclipse” occurs when the moon moves through the outer part of Earth’s shadow, otherwise known as the penumbra. While that eclipse doesn’t generally produce the same breathtaking effects as other types of lunar eclipses, it still causes a noticeable bit of darkness over the moon’s surface to occur.
That eclipse will be visible through Asia and Europe, but will have concluded by the time it becomes dark in North America. Residents in Hawaii and a few of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands will be able to see the eclipse, according to NASA maps.
Another penumbral lunar eclipse will take place in late October, and will be visible in the eastern United States, but not Chicago. Area residents will have to wait until March 2024 to see their next penumbral eclipse.
While Chicago-area residents will miss out on that eclipse, an interesting astronomical phenomenon will take place later this summer. Not only will the month of August feature two full moons, marking the only “blue moon” of 2023, but both of those full moons will be so-called “supermoons” because of their close proximity to the Earth.
Those will take place on Aug. 1 and Aug. 30, with the former known as the “Sturgeon Moon.”
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