This Saturday (28) spectators from Ceara, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte will be able to watch Partial lunar eclipse.

This phenomenon, which will also be visible in part of the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maranhão and Piauí, occurs when our natural satellite and the Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. But do you know how this specific type of eclipse works?

During a lunar eclipse, it is the Earth’s shadow that obscures the Moon. There are two types of shadow: shade and shade. See picture below:

A umbra is a dark shadow that does not receive any light from the sun, and a penumbra is a light shadow that still receives light from the sun.

When the Moon enters the penumbra, we have a lunar eclipse penumbra And when you enter the shadow Our partial. actually the total It occurs when it is completely immersed in shade.

Therefore, this Saturday (28), lucky spectators from these states will have the opportunity to see the second phenomenon: partial.

During this Saturday, our natural moon will darken for a while, but it will not disappear completely.

This is because, according to the National Observatory (ON), the Moon will be completely immersed in the penumbra, but only 6% of its surface will be covered by the shadow, resulting in a small part of the satellite being “bitten off.” .

Therefore, the less attentive viewer may not even realize that he is witnessing an eclipse of this type!

“It is important to remember that a lunar eclipse occurs during a full moon, and that the moon rises at sunset. Therefore, to observe this spectacle, it is recommended to look for places with a good view to the east, where the moon will rise,” ON says: “Rise with the eclipse.”

In other parts of the country, the eclipse will be penumbral, as the moon will have passed a partial phase before appearing on the horizon. One of the basic characteristics of this phenomenon is that the Moon darkens very slightly, as the satellite is in the light shadow of the Earth, and still receives light from our star.

Learn how the different types of eclipses work by watching the video below:

According to NASA, the North American space agency, the partial eclipse on Saturday will last about one hour.

The peak of the event will be around 5pm Brasilia time, but the eclipse should start around 3pm (penumbra phase).

On the map below provided by the agency, you can see the countries that will have the opportunity to see the eclipse.

Dark colors, such as in part of the American continent, indicate places where the eclipse will not be visible. The light gray color shows the area that will be difficult to observe, as the phenomenon will occur near the birth of the Moon.

Finally, the white colors show where the entire eclipse can be seen, if weather conditions are right of course.

See this year’s eclipse calendar:

• ☀️ April 20 – Total solar eclipse (not visible in Brazil)
• 🌗 May 5-6 – Penumbral lunar eclipse (not visible in Brazil)
• ☀️October 14 – Annular solar eclipse (Visible in most parts of the country)
• 🌗 October 28 – Partial lunar eclipse (Visible in a small part of the country)