There’s a total lunar eclipse Sunday. Here’s what to expect

Share
moon eclipse
Total lunar eclipse in St. Pete Beach, FL. By Seán Kinane, 8 October 2014.

A total lunar eclipse will be visible in Florida and in many other parts of the world on Sunday night into Monday morning [15-16 May 2022].

According to the NASA website, here is a timeline of what you can expect during the first half of the lunar eclipse, up to the middle of totality:

  • At 9:32 p.m. EDT (8:32 p.m. CDT), the edge of the Moon will begin entering the penumbra.
  • At 10:28 p.m. EDT (9:28 p.m. CDT), the edge of the Moon will begin entering the umbra. As the Moon moves into the darker shadow, significant darkening will be noticeable. Some say that during this part of the eclipse, the Moon looks as if it has had a bite taken out of it.
  • At 11:29 p.m. EDT (10:29 p.m. CDT), the Moon will be completely inside the umbra, marking the beginning of the total lunar eclipse, also known as totality. The moon will appear red.
  • The moment of greatest eclipse, when the Moon is halfway through its path across the umbra, occurs at 12:12 a.m. EDT (11:12 p.m. CDT).

About a year ago, there was a partial lunar eclipse in Florida. Here are my photos and videos of that eclipse and of the sunrise from Pass-a-Grille Beach in Pinellas County.

Here’s the moon right at the beginning of the lunar eclipse, around 5:45 a.m. ET on 26 May 2021:

moon full moon super blood moon
The very start of the lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 5:45 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.

Here’s the moon around 5:50 a.m. ET:

full moon
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 5:50 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.

The rest are captioned as well, with an approximate time stamp:

full moon
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 5:55 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.
full moon
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 6:00 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.
full moon Gulf of Mexico sea oats sand dunes
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 6:00 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.
full moon
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 6:05 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.
full moon sand dunes sea oats Gulf of Mexico
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 6:05 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.
full moon
The lunar eclipse as seen from Pass-a-Grille Beach, Pinellas County, Florida. By Seán Kinane. About 6:10 a.m. ET, 26 May 2021.

But before the moon became totally eclipsed, it went behind clouds near the horizon, as you can see in this video (listen for the early morning birds and the sound of the Gulf of Mexico meeting the beach).

beach sunrise
Dawn over Pass-a-Grille, St. Pete Beach, Florida. By Seán Kinane 26 May 2021.
sunrise dawn
Dawn over Pass-a-Grille, St. Pete Beach, Florida. By Seán Kinane 26 May 2021.

So I walked east for a block or two across the barrier island to watch the sun rise over Boca Ciega Bay.

sunrise bird
A tern sails at dawn over Boca Ciega Bay near Pass-a-Grille, St. Pete Beach, Florida. By Seán Kinane 26 May 2021.
sunrise
Dawn over Boca Ciega Bay near Pass-a-Grille, St. Pete Beach, Florida. By Seán Kinane 26 May 2021.
sunrise
Sunrise over Boca Ciega Bay near Pass-a-Grille, St. Pete Beach, Florida. By Seán Kinane 26 May 2021.

Video of the sunrise:

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

Genetics and Your Health

MidPoint explored genetics testing and the challenges of receiving a...

The Scoop: Thurs. Nov. 21st, 2024, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

Stay updated on the St. Petersburg city leaders' vote on...

City of Zephyrhills and FEMA will hold a hurricane assistance meeting Friday

There will be a town hall-style meeting in Zephyrhills regarding...

Florida Capitol
Here are the 2025-26 Florida Senate committee leaders

Senate President, Republican Ben Albritton, named lawmakers who will lead...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

The Dorm Room
Player position: