Technologies

How to watch the longest partial lunar eclipse of this century

Earth’s shadow will cover most of the moon Nov. 18-19, and it will take its sweet timing doing it.

It’s almost celestial showtime. There’s a partial lunar eclipse on tap for Nov. 18-19 and it’s notable for how long it will last. The Earth’s shadow will largely block the sun’s light from reaching the moon, tinging our lunar neighbor with darkness.

NASA statistics on lunar eclipses from 2001 through 2100 show this month’s partial eclipse will be the longest of the century with a duration of over 3 hours and 28 minutes. Compare that with the longest total eclipse of the century, which happened in 2018 and stretched for nearly an hour and 43 minutes.

The Holcomb Observatory in Indiana shared a handy graphic showing what to expect from the eclipse, which will cover most of the moon. «This will also be the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years,» the observatory tweeted.

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What a partial eclipse looks like

Lunar eclipses don’t have the same dramatic appearance as a solar eclipse where it looks like someone is carving a black hole out of the side of the sun.

During a lunar eclipse, the moon darkens and sometimes takes on a reddish color. For a partial eclipse, Earth’s shadow doesn’t completely cover the moon. Partial eclipses are still fantastic experiences.

«Partial lunar eclipses might not be quite as spectacular as total lunar eclipses — where the moon is completely covered in Earth’s shadow – but they occur more frequently,» NASA said in a skywatching update. «And that just means more opportunities to witness little changes in our solar system that sometimes occur right before our eyes.»

When to watch the lunar eclipse

The eclipse will be visible to a large area of the globe across the evening of Nov. 18 and into Nov. 19. Exact viewing times will depend on your location, but at least some of the eclipse will be visible in most of the Americas, Australia, and in parts of Europe and Asia. The US will be in a great position to catch the eclipse action.

Head over to Timeanddate.com and search for your location to get your times. If you want to watch the full process, you could be in for a long night. For example, the partial-eclipse phase will kick off at 12:18 a.m. MT on Nov. 19 for me in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and reach its maximum at about 2:02 a.m. I’ll probably aim to set an alarm for closer to maximum rather than stand out in the cold for hours.

How to watch the lunar eclipse from anywhere

You have online options for following the moon action. These video feeds are a good fallback if you encounter cloudy weather, or if you just don’t want to stay up late or get up early to watch the eclipse in person.

The Virtual Telescope Project will go live with coverage of the eclipse at 11 p.m. PT on Nov. 18 (7 a.m. UTC on Nov. 19). VTP is collaborating with astrophotographers from around the world along with offering live commentary from astrophysicist Gianluca Masi.

Timeanddate.com has arranged for its own livestream starting at 11 p.m. PT on Nov. 18.

Eclipses aren’t everyday occurrences on Earth, and they’re not always easily visible. While some viewers might have to contend with middle-of-the-night scheduling for this month’s celestial event, it’s worth taking a moment to marvel at how the moon, the sun and our planet are connected as residents of this solar system.

Technologies

Verizon’s Simple Mobile and Total Wireless Plans Expand International Features

If you frequently call or visit countries outside the US, these prepaid phone plan improvements could help your travel budget.

Travel patterns are changing, with more people in the US venturing outside the country and needing to stay connected. To accommodate this surge, Verizon is boosting the international options in its prepaid Simple Mobile and Total Wireless phone brands starting Aug. 28.

Most phone plans include options to call and text people in Canada and Mexico, along with some roaming options for US travelers. Depending on the plan, those options are extended to many other countries around the globe. But you often end up paying for a more expensive plan than you need in order to get the travel benefits.

Now, the Simple Mobile and Total Wireless brands are expanding their international options and increasing data allotments so you can travel using the plan you carry every day without the stress of finding local coverage.

See also: Make sure you have a good phone for traveling.

Simple Mobile changes

The Simple Mobile prepaid plans include an allotment of high-speed data before downshifting to slower unlimited data. Be sure to check the details for specific countries on the site. Here’s how they break down:

The $25 Unlimited plan includes 15GB of high-speed data (up from 3GB) and unlimited calling to more than 100 countries.
The $30 Unlimited plan includes 20GB of high-speed data (up from 5GB) and unlimited calling to more than 125 countries (up from 100 countries).
The $40 Unlimited plan includes 30GB of high-speed data (up from 15GB) and unlimited calling to more than 125 countries (up from 100 countries).
The $50 Unlimited World plan, formerly named the Truly Unlimited plan, includes unlimited high-speed data and unlimited calling to more than 200 countries (a doubling of the number of countries from before).
The $60 Unlimited World Plus plan, formerly the Truly Unlimited Plus plan, includes unlimited access to Verizon’s fastest network, 5G Ultra Wideband (where available) and unlimited high-speed data. It also doubles the number of countries with unlimited calling to over 200, and offers international roaming in more than 140 countries.

Total Wireless Plans

The top two Total Wireless plans, Total 5G Unlimited ($50 a month) and Total 5G Unlimited Plus ($60 a month), feature unlimited high-speed data, including 5G Ultra Wideband speeds.

As of Aug. 28, roaming coverage for those plans doubles to more than 30 countries and international calling to 180 countries.

The Total Base 5G Unlimited plan stays the same with unlimited high-speed data (but not 5G Ultra Wideband), international calling to more than 85 countries and texting to over 200 destinations and roaming in Canada and Mexico.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 20 #535

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 20, No. 535.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a tough one. It helps to know a little something about different currencies, but there was one on there that was completely new to me. If you need hints and answers for today’s Strands puzzle, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Mint condition

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: We’re in the money!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

GULP, GLOB, LORE, DOLL, DOLE, DOLED, ROPE, ROPER, WALL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

EURO, PESO, DOLLAR, POUND, RAND, RUPEE, KWANZA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is GLOBALCURRENCY. To find it, look for the G that’s four letters to the right on the very top row, and wind down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Aug. 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 20.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has a few challenging clues (4-Down threw me off), but it’s mostly OK. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.