Partial lunar eclipse to be visible from Bulgaria at moonrise on August 7
As North America prepares for its first full solar eclipse in decades later this month, the consolation prize for sky gazers in Bulgaria will be a partial lunar eclipse on August 7.
Visible throughout Europe, as well as most of Africa, Asia and Australia, the peak of the eclipse will be at about 9.20pm, Sofia time, when the moon is still in its moonrise phase over Bulgaria. Lasting just under two hours, the partial eclipse will begin at about 8.23pm in Sofia, ending at 10.18pm.
There is a high chance, however, that clouds could obstruct the view over large parts of Bulgaria, most notably in Sofia, where the weather forecast for Monday predicts cloudy skies in the afternoon and evening hours (as well as a 64 per cent chance of rain).
Plovdiv and much of the Black Sea coast, however, are predicted to have clear skies on Monday.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon, Earth and sun line up so that the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon. The moon does not turn completely black, though. It turns red due to light that filters through the Earth’s atmosphere, and the red light is bent toward the moon.
(Courtsey of NASA Ames Research Center/Brian Day)