Lunar Eclipse in one week
A total Lunar eclipse is coming up in one week! Below are the times in EST.
Total Lunar Eclipse, evening of February 20, 2008
7:35 pm, EST: Penumbral phase starts (not visible--moon is as full as it gets)
Subtle shading appears around 8:20 or so
8:43 pm, EST: Partial phase starts
Watch the earth’s shadow cross the moon--see the earth in silhouette
10:01 pm, EST: Total phase starts
In shadow, the moon takes on a reddish, orange-ish, or brownish color
10:51 pm, EST: Total phase ends
The moon leaves the earth’s shadow--again see the earth in silhouette
12:09 am, EST: Partial phase ends
All that is left is a subtle shading that will gradually disappear
1:17 am, EST: Penumbral phase ends (not visible--again the moon is as full as it gets)
West coasters will miss the earliest phases, but it also means you won't have to stay up so late. Europeans will see it in the wee hours of the morning on the 21st.
I'll be at school, holding a special session of my class, which means I can take the Monday off after FKO on the up-and-up.
A good way to take in a lunar eclipse is to step out every 10 or 20 minutes and watch the progress of the shadow during the partial phase. And if it's partly cloudy, you can just watch when there's a hole in the clouds from time to time.
To me, the thing that makes it worthwhile is playing the mental game to see the earth's shadow as a shadow--the silhouette of our entire planet--and to try to picture it as literally as the shadow of earth as my own shadow is a shadow of me. If I can wrap my brain around that as I watch, I feel like I'm riding on a planet, and can see it as the ball that it is.
Total Lunar Eclipse, evening of February 20, 2008
7:35 pm, EST: Penumbral phase starts (not visible--moon is as full as it gets)
Subtle shading appears around 8:20 or so
8:43 pm, EST: Partial phase starts
Watch the earth’s shadow cross the moon--see the earth in silhouette
10:01 pm, EST: Total phase starts
In shadow, the moon takes on a reddish, orange-ish, or brownish color
10:51 pm, EST: Total phase ends
The moon leaves the earth’s shadow--again see the earth in silhouette
12:09 am, EST: Partial phase ends
All that is left is a subtle shading that will gradually disappear
1:17 am, EST: Penumbral phase ends (not visible--again the moon is as full as it gets)
West coasters will miss the earliest phases, but it also means you won't have to stay up so late. Europeans will see it in the wee hours of the morning on the 21st.
I'll be at school, holding a special session of my class, which means I can take the Monday off after FKO on the up-and-up.
A good way to take in a lunar eclipse is to step out every 10 or 20 minutes and watch the progress of the shadow during the partial phase. And if it's partly cloudy, you can just watch when there's a hole in the clouds from time to time.
To me, the thing that makes it worthwhile is playing the mental game to see the earth's shadow as a shadow--the silhouette of our entire planet--and to try to picture it as literally as the shadow of earth as my own shadow is a shadow of me. If I can wrap my brain around that as I watch, I feel like I'm riding on a planet, and can see it as the ball that it is.