From Vienna it can only be seen very incompletely, the moon sets there only very weakly and partially eclipsed at dawn. The situation is somewhat better in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, where there is still a piece of totality, which is hardly perceptible because of the twilight, according to Alexander Pikhard from the Vienna Working Group for Astronomy (WAA).
Lunar eclipses only occur on a full moon. The sun, earth and moon are exactly on a line and the earth’s satellite wanders through the earth’s shadow. The moon can dip completely (total lunar eclipse) or only partially (partial lunar eclipse) into the umbra of the earth.
Unfortunately unfavorable conditions
On May 16 there will be a total lunar eclipse, “however, the anticipation is dampened, because you can only see the beginning of the eclipse and under unfavorable conditions,” says WAA boss Pikhard. Finally, at 4:28 a.m., the moon begins to enter the umbra of the earth, starting the partial eclipse. However, it is already very light there, as the so-called “bourgeois twilight” – the time when you can read a newspaper outdoors without artificial lighting – begins at 4.36 a.m. in Vienna. Totality begins at 5:29 a.m. and thus only after sunrise (5:14 a.m.) or moonset (5:16 a.m., each for Vienna).
Next total eclipse in 2028
Further west, because of the later sunrise (5.43 a.m.) and moonset (5.46 a.m., each in Bregenz), “in Tyrol and Vorarlberg there is still a bit of totality, but it is practically invisible at dusk,” says Pikhard.
This year, fans of cosmic shadow plays can expect a partial solar eclipse on October 25th. The second total lunar eclipse of the year on November 8 remains completely hidden in this country, it can only be seen from the Pacific or in the Arctic. The next total eclipse of the moon in full length can only be observed in Austria on December 31, 2028.
Source: Nachrichten
