SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio sky enthusiasts will have a chance to witness a spectacular partial lunar eclipse late Thursday night as the full moon passes through Earth’s shadow.
The event is expected be one of the deepest partial lunar eclipses visible from South Texas in years, with nearly the entire moon slipping into Earth’s darkest shadow.
What is a partial lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse happens when Earth moves directly between the sun and the moon, causing Earth’s shadow to fall across the lunar surface. During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the moon moves into Earth’s darkest shadow, which is called the umbra.
This means the moon won’t completely disappear or turn fully red like it does during a total lunar eclipse. Instead, a dark shadow will gradually cover most of the moon.
Thursday night’s eclipse comes very close to being a total eclipse. At its peak, approximately 96% of the moon’s surface will be covered by Earth’s shadow, leaving only a small white illuminated.
Timeline
The moon will rise in the east-southeast during the early stages of the eclipse before climbing higher into the southeastern sky later in the evening.
You won’t need any special equipment. Just step outside and look up.
Binoculars or a telescope can provide a detailed look, but the eclipse will be easy to see with the naked eye — even from within San Antonio city limits.
Here’s the timeline:
- 8:23 p.m. Thursday — Penumbral eclipse begins
- 9:33 p.m. — Partial eclipse begins
- 11:12 p.m. — Maximum eclipse
- 12:51 a.m. Friday — Partial eclipse ends
- 2:01 a.m. Penumbral eclipse ends
San Antonio’s forecast
The forecast looks OK for eclipse viewing across San Antonio. We’re expecting partly cloudy skies Thursday evening, although a few isolated showers or thunderstorms may develop earlier in the night.
The good news is that widespread rain is not expected during the peak viewing hours.
Cloud cover will likely be the biggest challenge, but many locations across Bexar County and South Central Texas should still have opportunities to catch the eclipse through breaks in the clouds.
As always, be sure to check the latest forecast before heading outside Thursday night. And if you manage to capture a photo of the eclipse, send it to KSAT Connect so we can share it with fellow South Texas sky enthusiasts.
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