Bloomberg.com: Latin America
Total Lunar Eclipse Will Be Visible From 5 Continents Tonight
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- A total lunar eclipse will be visible tonight to skywatchers on five continents if the sky is clear, according to the U.K. Royal Astronomical Society.

The first of two total lunar eclipses this year can be seen from Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. The moon will set in eastern Australia and Asia during the eclipse, while South Americans will only be able to view its later stages. The eclipse won't be visible in North America. People in most of Africa and central Asia will be able to witness the whole event.

``Lunar eclipses are a fascinating and beautiful phenomenon, and no two are quite alike,'' said the RAS in an e-mailed statement. ``They are of no real scientific importance in astronomical research.''

The phenomenon, during which the Earth will block the passage of sunlight to the moon as the three celestial bodies line up, begins at 7:48 p.m. London time, the society said. The ``totality'' phase, when the moon is completely in the Earth's shadow, starts at 8:52 p.m. and ends at 10:08 p.m. The eclipse will be over at 11:12 p.m.

The moon won't be completely blacked out when it's in the Earth's shadow because the planet's atmosphere bends some of the light into the shadow. The moon will probably appear to be brown, coppery-red or orange during the eclipse. The color depends on the amount of dust in the atmosphere.

Total lunar eclipses are irregularly spaced. The last occurred in November, and the next will be in October, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. After that, skywatchers will have to wait until 2007 for another total eclipse.