New total eclipse of the moon will occur on January 20: will be the last until 2021 | Technology

The inhabitants of America, much of Europe and West Africa will be able to observe a total eclipse of the Moon on January 20 or 21 (depending on their location), which will be the last of this type until 2021.

For North and South America, the total eclipse will occur in the early evening of the 20th or early morning., while in Europe and Africa will be seen shortly before sunrise on the 21st. Further east of the planet, the phenomenon will be barely visible because it will be daytime.

The full moon will be in the shadow of the Earth between 03:34 and 06:51 GMT (between 00:34 and 03:51 in Chile).

The eclipse will be total for one hour from 04:41 GMT (01:41 hours in Chile), according to the timetables prepared by NASA.

The total phase of the eclipse will be 45 minutes shorter than that of the great eclipse of July 2018, which will continue to be the longest in the 21st century.

During the total eclipse, the earth's natural satellite will not be completely invisible, but will turn red. This is because the sun's rays will not reach directly, and instead a small part of the red rays will seep through the Earth's atmosphere and refract over the Moon.

"It's the last chance of a good time to see a total lunar eclipse," told AFP news agency Bruce Betts, chief scientist at the Planetary Society, an American astronomy organization.

The next total eclipse will be in May 2021 although there are other partial ones that will occur sooner.

Total lunar eclipses can occur two or three times a year and occur when the Earth is exactly between the Sun and the Moon. It is necessary that the sky is clear to observe it, because clouds often spoil the spectacle.

Fans of astronomy will be able to compare the small variations of the red tone of the moon at this time. "Everything depends on what's in the atmosphere. Just as sunsets change color from day to day, eclipses vary according to the particles in the atmosphere, or if there is a volcanic eruption, for example," he says. Bruce Betts.

No telescope is needed to take advantage of the eclipse. To see the craters of the Moon, the planetologist recalls that a simple pair of binoculars may suffice.