We hope to see you in May as we continue to relaunch the Imaginarium with several favorite planetarium shows - Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon
is back Friday May 6, at 8:15p.m. Big Bird and Magic Treehouse-Space Mission are back Saturday, May 28.
Totality also showing Friday May 6, at 7p.m. will bring you up to speed to appreciate the partial lunar eclipse in Hawaii that occurs mid-May.
May 15–16, 2022 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
The total phase of this
Blood Moon total lunar eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. However, in Hawaii we will only see a partial eclipse. Nevertheless, it is a special astronomical sighting and you can get ready to look for it after moonrise at 7:02p.m. May 15.
To learn even more about eclipses join us at the Imaginarium Friday May 6, 7:00p.m. for
Totality – This program is all about eclipses – from lunar to total solar. We cover how they occur and what happens when they do. After seeing this show you will be ready when the partial eclipse happens in Hawaii.
What Is a Partial Lunar Eclipse?
A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and Moon but the three celestial bodies do not form a straight line in space. When that happens, a small part of the Moon's surface is covered by the darkest, central part of the Earth's shadow, called the
umbra. The rest of the Moon is covered by the outer part of the Earth's shadow called the
penumbra.
Conditions for a Partial Lunar Eclipse
For a partial lunar eclipse to occur, two celestial events must happen at the same time:
- A Full Moon.
- The Sun, Earth, and Moon must be aligned in almost a straight line.
But Not Every Full Moon Night
Partial lunar eclipses do not happen every Full Moon night because of the inclination of the Moon's orbital plane. The Moon's orbital path around the Earth is inclined at an angle of 5° to the Earth's orbital plane (ecliptic) around the Sun. The points where the two orbital planes meet are called lunar nodes as shown in the image below.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon is near a node at Full Moon and
solar eclipses take place when it is near a node at New Moon.Part of the Moon dips into the Earth's umbra during a partial lunar eclipse
Stages of a Partial Lunar Eclipse
- Penumbral eclipse begins: The Earth's penumbra starts covering the Moon's surface.
- Partial eclipse begins: The Earth's umbra starts moving over the Moon.
- Maximum eclipse: The Earth's umbra covers the largest part of the Moon.
- Partial eclipse ends: The Earth's umbra no longer covers the Moon.
- Penumbral eclipse ends: The Earth no longer casts a shadow on the Moon. This marks the end of the eclipse.
Timeline When the Eclipse Happens Worldwide —
Lunar eclipses can be visible from everywhere on the night side of the Earth, if the sky is clear. From some places the entire eclipse will be visible, while in other areas the Moon will rise or set during the eclipse.
The Moon is below the horizon in Honolulu some of the time, so that part of the eclipse will not be visible.
| Event |
UTC Time |
Time in Honolulu* |
Visible in Honolulu |
| Penumbral Eclipse begins |
May 16 at 01:32:05 |
May 15 at 3:32:05 pm |
No, below the horizon |
| Partial Eclipse begins |
May 16 at 02:27:52 |
May 15 at 4:27:52 pm |
No, below the horizon |
| Full Eclipse begins |
May 16 at 03:29:03 |
May 15 at 5:29:03 pm |
No, below the horizon |
| Maximum Eclipse |
May 16 at 04:11:28 |
May 15 at 6:11:28 pm |
No, below the horizon |
| Full Eclipse ends |
May 16 at 04:53:55 |
May 15 at 6:53:55 pm |
No, below the horizon |
| Partial Eclipse begins in Hawaii |
|
May 15 at 7:02 am |
Yes, moonrise |
| Max of Partial Eclipse |
|
May 15 at 7:04 am |
Yes |
| Partial Eclipse ends |
May 16 at 05:55:07 |
May 15 at 7:55:07 pm |
Yes |
| Penumbral Eclipse ends |
May 16 at 06:50:49 |
May 15 at 8:50:49 pm |
Yes |
|
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| |
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The Very Merry Month Of May
And let us not forget May, that merriest of months is a cross-quarter day celebrated in song and poem.
According to the song and poem, the month of May is very merry for a number of reasons including its astronomical connection as a cross-quarter day. May Day or Beltane occurs on May 1 and refers to any of several public holidays. As a day of celebration the holiday has ancient origins related to many customs that have survived into modern times. Many of these customs are due to May Day being a cross-quarter day, meaning that (in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is almost exclusively celebrated), it falls approximately halfway between the spring equinox and
summer solstice. May Day has its origins in
pagan pre-Christian festivals related to
agriculture and fertility, and its celebration involved joy and light-hearted fun in the outdoors as the warmer weather of spring and summer began.
May Day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures with May 1 marking the first day of summer. This meant that June 21 (back then June 25), which currently marks our first day of summer, was the middle of summer and thus was called Midsummer. Such early celebrations were connected to
agriculture and involved gathering flowers and greenery, which were used as decorations.
But in Hawaii May Day is Lei Day –
Here in Hawaii, Lei is not just an accessory. This element of Hawaiian culture even has its own holiday, a statewide celebration of the vital element of Hawaiian culture. The festivities begin in the morning on the 1st of May and continue throughout the day. Lei day was founded in 1929 to celebrate Hawaiian traditional craft of lei making. Each island of the Hawaiian archipelago has its own type of lei which makes it an essential element of ethnic identity and culture.
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