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.
Very good from my view right now in White Lake, Michigan
LOL
Looks great from NJ! My neck is killing me now!
I love lunar eclipses, being a creature of the night.
Twice in my life I had an extreme privilege watching the moon rise in totally clear skies while it was fully eclipsed. Once in central CA, and once in Thousand Islands.
But one morning in Seattle 20 some odd years back, I lived on the third floor of an apartment complex that looked due east towards sunrise.
As the sun came up there was very nearly an annular eclipse of the moon, it must have been only half an hour or so after the “official” new moon. The moon was a ring in the sky! But the odd thing was it wasn’t a “true” eclipse, the moon was still a few degrees away from the sun.
I’m watching it right now!
Did they launch? Any space junk yet? Local news here said we might see some stuff starting around 7:30 Pacific time.
great photo!
Thanks for the link. Yes, a great site.
Clear and cold skies in MN, beautiful sight!
I should have spent a tad more and got an 8" dob.
It's about 13 above, so I settled for my 63mm binocs.
And the hole in the clouds stayed open for the last 15 minutes before totality.
Saturn's all but washed out.
Eastern/southeastern flanks are still a cream color, but the rest is getting pretty red as predicted!
TV said some of the debris could orbit for days so there would be like a meteor “cloud” in orbit.
Missile? Ha! I'm sure it's just a electrical malfunction in the center fuel tank...
Instead of one big piece of space junk, we’ll end up with thousands of pieces of space junk.
Oh well. I’m hoping for a successful shoot-down. I’m sure it will get a lot of attention from our “friends” around the world.
:)
Great view from Dearborn, MI. Beautiful clear winter skies.
Didn’t stay outside too long. Glad my house has an eastern exposure and a big bay window.
LOL at your tag line!
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