Indonesians Will See First Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in 2023

VIVA – Indonesian people will soon see the first natural phenomenon of the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in 2023, on Friday, May 5, at 10:12 pm to Saturday, May 6, at 2:33 am in West Indonesian Time. It was stated by Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Tuesday.

The agency also said Penumbral Lunar Eclipse can be observed in all parts of Indonesia. A phenomenon similar to the current Penumbral Lunar Eclipse was last observed on April 24, 2005.

Eighteen years in the future, exactly on May 16, 2041, only then will a Partial Lunar Eclipse be seen again.

Penumbral is a type of lunar collapse; an event where the Sun is blocked by the Earth, causing not all of its light to reach the Moon.

A Penumbral Lunar Eclipse happens when the position of the Moon, Sun and Earth are aligned. Such a position makes the Moon only enter the Earth's penumbral shadow.

As a result, at the peak of the meltdown, the Moon will look dimmer than when it is full. Therefore, this type of weakening is not so easy. As information, the Moon-killing process lasts for several hours.

This is longer than the process of being blown away by the Sun, which takes only a few minutes. The duration of the Moon's protection is due to the large area of Earth's shadow that covers the Moon's orbit.

In a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, the position of the Moon is in the Earth's penumbral shadow which forms a thin shadow on the surface of the Moon.

This causes the Moon's light to be dimmed, or not completely covered. Therefore, unlike other eclipsing phenomena, a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse is most likely not visible to the naked eye.