Hong Kong Space Museum to live stream partial lunar eclipse on November 19
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At the time of moonrise at 5.38pm that day, the maximum eclipse will have already ended. The moon will be leaving the umbra gradually, at 6.47pm the moon will exit the Earth's umbra completely. The whole eclipse will end when the moon leaves the penumbra at 8.06pm. As the moon will be below the horizon at the beginning of the eclipse, part of the eclipse is not visible in Hong Kong.
During the partial lunar eclipse, the moon will not be completely covered by the Earth's umbra. However, since the moon will be at a low altitude and the sky will not be completely dark when the eclipse is in progress, it may be relatively difficult for the public to clearly view the moon. The moon will still be less than five degrees above the horizon at 6pm that day. The Hong Kong Space Museum reminds the public to pay special attention to the height of obstacles in the east-northeast direction when selecting a site for observation.
The Hong Kong Space Museum will live stream the partial lunar eclipse via its YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/hkspacem). Curators will share interesting science tidbits related to lunar eclipse during the live stream. The public is also encouraged to visit the Facebook pages of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department "LCSD Plusss" (www.facebook.com/LCSDPlusss) and the Museum (www.facebook.com/hkspacem) to observe the lunar eclipse in parallel.
When the sun, the Earth and the moon are aligned, the moon will enter the Earth's shadow, resulting in a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses can be divided into three types, namely the penumbral eclipse, partial eclipse and total eclipse, depending on how the moon comes in contact with the Earth's umbra or penumbra. A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when the moon enters the penumbra of the Earth; whereas a partial lunar eclipse happens when only part of the moon enters the umbra. When the Earth's umbra covers the moon completely, a total lunar eclipse results. A partial lunar eclipse can be divided into five stages: moon enters penumbra, moon enters umbra, maximum eclipse, moon exits umbra and moon exits penumbra. During the partial lunar eclipse this time, only the last two stages can be seen in Hong Kong.
The timetable for observing the partial lunar eclipse on November 19 in Hong Kong:
| Stage | Hong Kong time | Moon's altitude (degrees) |
| Moon enters penumbra | Not visible | -- |
| Moon enters umbra | Not visible | -- |
| Maximum eclipse | Not visible | -- |
| Moonrise | 5.38pm | -- |
| Moon exits umbra | 6.47pm | 14 |
| Moon exits penumbra | 8.06pm | 31 |
Since weather always affects astronomical observations, members of the public are advised to pay attention to the latest weather conditions during outdoor observation. The public should also comply with the latest anti-epidemic measures and maintain social distancing while staying vigilant with regards to personal hygiene. For details of the partial lunar eclipse and the live streaming, please visit the Museum's website at hk.space.museum.
Ends/Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Issued at HKT 15:00
Issued at HKT 15:00
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