Harvest Moon lunar eclipse on Sunday Sep 27th
from our friends at NASA :
In the days before light bulbs, farmers relied on moonlight to help them harvest their crops. Many crops ripen all at once in late summer and early autumn so farmers found themselves extremely busy at this time of year. They had to work after sundown. Moonlight became an essential part of farming, and thus, the Harvest Moon was born.
According to folklore, the Harvest Moon is the full Moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, the hectic beginning of northern autumn. In 2015, the Moon is full on Sept. 28th, less than a week after the equinox of Sept. 23rd. The coincidence sets the stage for a nice display of harvest moonlight.
But wait. This year’s Harvest Moon is not like the others. It’s going to be eclipsed.
On the night of Sept. 27 and into the early hours of Sept. 28, the full Moon will glide through the shadow of Earth, turning the Harvest Moon a golden-red color akin to autumn leaves.
The action begins at 9:07 PM Eastern Time on the evening of Sept 27th when the edge of the Moon first enters the amber core of Earth’s shadow. For the next three hours and 18 minutes, Earth's shadow will move across the lunar disk.
Totality begins at 10:11 PM Eastern Time. That’s when the Moon is completely enveloped by the shadow of our planet. Totality lasts for an hour and 12 minutes so there is plenty of time to soak up the suddenly-red moonlight.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/22sep_lunareclipse/
so not only is it going to be pretty awesome, but it is happening early enough in the evening to comfortably enjoy
* EDIT - well, shoot ... cloud cover prevented me from moon watching ... the pics at NASA and other various sites ( like this one http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11895052/Supermoon-lunar-eclipse-2015-Amazing-pictures-of-once-in-a-generation-event-live.html ) were nice
next Harvest Moon lunar eclipse will be in 2033 ... maybe I'll be around then ... sitting in my wheelchair at the old folks home ... watching from the back deck, my hand up the skirt of a nurse
In the days before light bulbs, farmers relied on moonlight to help them harvest their crops. Many crops ripen all at once in late summer and early autumn so farmers found themselves extremely busy at this time of year. They had to work after sundown. Moonlight became an essential part of farming, and thus, the Harvest Moon was born.
According to folklore, the Harvest Moon is the full Moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, the hectic beginning of northern autumn. In 2015, the Moon is full on Sept. 28th, less than a week after the equinox of Sept. 23rd. The coincidence sets the stage for a nice display of harvest moonlight.
But wait. This year’s Harvest Moon is not like the others. It’s going to be eclipsed.
On the night of Sept. 27 and into the early hours of Sept. 28, the full Moon will glide through the shadow of Earth, turning the Harvest Moon a golden-red color akin to autumn leaves.
The action begins at 9:07 PM Eastern Time on the evening of Sept 27th when the edge of the Moon first enters the amber core of Earth’s shadow. For the next three hours and 18 minutes, Earth's shadow will move across the lunar disk.
Totality begins at 10:11 PM Eastern Time. That’s when the Moon is completely enveloped by the shadow of our planet. Totality lasts for an hour and 12 minutes so there is plenty of time to soak up the suddenly-red moonlight.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2015/22sep_lunareclipse/
so not only is it going to be pretty awesome, but it is happening early enough in the evening to comfortably enjoy
* EDIT - well, shoot ... cloud cover prevented me from moon watching ... the pics at NASA and other various sites ( like this one http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11895052/Supermoon-lunar-eclipse-2015-Amazing-pictures-of-once-in-a-generation-event-live.html ) were nice
next Harvest Moon lunar eclipse will be in 2033 ... maybe I'll be around then ... sitting in my wheelchair at the old folks home ... watching from the back deck, my hand up the skirt of a nurse