Posted on 02/20/2008 3:36:23 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES - The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurs Wednesday night, with cameo appearances by Saturn and the bright star Regulus on either side of the veiled full moon.
Skywatchers viewing through a telescope will have the added treat of seeing Saturn's handsome rings.
Weather permitting, the total eclipse can be seen from North and South America. People in Europe and Africa will be able to see it high in the sky before dawn on Thursday.
As the moonlight dims — it won't go totally dark — Saturn and Regulus will pop out and sandwich the moon. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo.
Jack Horkheimer, host of the PBS show "Star Gazer," called the event "the moon, the lord of the rings and heart of the lion eclipse."
Wednesday's event will be the last total lunar eclipse until Dec. 20, 2010. Last year there were two.
The weather could be a spoiler for many in the United States. Cloudy skies are expected for most of the Western states with a chance of snow from the heartland to the East Coast, said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service.
"It looks like it's going to be a hard one to spot," Seto said.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon passes into Earth's shadow and is blocked from the sun's rays that normally illuminate it. During an eclipse, the sun, Earth and moon line up, leaving a darkened moon visible to observers on the night side of the planet.
The moon doesn't go black because indirect sunlight still reaches it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere. Since the atmosphere filters out blue light, the indirect light that reaches the moon transforms it into a reddish or orange tinge, depending on how much dust and cloud cover are in the atmosphere at the time.
Wednesday's total eclipse phase will last nearly an hour. Earth's shadow is expected to blot out the moon beginning around 7 p.m. on the West Coast and 10 p.m. on the East Coast. West Coast skygazers will miss the start of the eclipse because it occurs before the moon rises.
Unlike solar eclipses which require protective eyewear, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye.
Later this year, in August, there will be a total solar eclipse and a partial lunar eclipse.
Isn't there a comet visible now as well?
Errant satellite shot down. Link at post #91. BREAKING NEWS ALL OVER FR!
I'd start with sci.astro.amateur. That group seems to have enough normal helpful people with experience, in amongst the trolls.
“Thank you for the link! What a wonderful visual explanation for the kids!”
Yep! My six year old son learned loved the site, and then loved watching it live.
Somebody beat me to the great line of the night.
“For the first time in the last hour, I am proud of my country.”
Moon revealing itself now. What a sight!
Moon out of totality, a thin sliver now.
Do I have to start howling again?
We stood outside in our driveway and watched the moon eclipse. The moon was just over the top of our house. Very cold.
Have been watching it — awesome.
Hope you all got to see it too.
Errant satellite shot down - great news!
excellent
I got to see the whole thing; skies were clear as could be here in the Philly burbs.
It looks like a quarter moon now, except the light area is on the southeast side and I can’t figure out why.
Errant? Try defective.
Hmm. The light MUST originate with the sun, so I guess the earth has spun to a point where the sun has actually made it’s way around to the east side and is “coming up”. It’s hard to imagine, given it’s only 11:30 pm here. But that’s obviously it.
A more precise adjective for sure. I borrowed the words from the title in this thread...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1973769/posts
Thanks Calvin Locke.
This really ticks me off. I have a brand new 8” Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and it’s completely overcast tonight here in Knoxville, TN. The only good thing is it looks like we’re going to get a lot of rain in the next two days.
Thanks, I will check into that.
I agree.
So disappointed, clear skies have given way to clouds here in NJ.
Wonderful live, too! Here, in western PA, we were supposed to have clouds, but they cleared up enough to watch it. Not clear enough to get a good look at Saturn and Regulus, though. I went out briefly, around 10.45 - it's soooo cold here tonight, crunchy cold.
It was awesome from here in the Central Valley of California!
Saturn was pretty cool, too.
What a fabulous solar system we have been given!
I did!! I can’t believe how the skies cleared and we had a terrific view thru a set of skylights in our sunroom. Our neighbors came over and they have a gadget they use for bird watching. It was set up on our deck and looking at the moon through it was spectacular. I’m so glad we got to see it. Just beautiful!!
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