last lunar eclipse until 2010 tonight

mohawkbaseball#1 · Post by **mohawkbaseball#1** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:47 pm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_ ... ar_eclipse

mohawkbaseball#1 · Post by **mohawkbaseball#1** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:48 pm

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 â€” it won't go totally dark â€” 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.

mohawkbaseball#1 · Post by **mohawkbaseball#1** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:49 pm

not looking to good for us

orange-n-brown 365 · Post by **orange-n-brown 365** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:54 pm

my boys have their telescope out and hoping! :-D

ballparent · Post by **ballparent** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:21 pm

Getting ours set up right now ONB but don't think I'll stay out very long, it's too cold. I'll run out, take a look, and duck back in. With the angle of the suns rays it may turn a reddish orange. That will be pretty freaky especially if the US decides to shoot the satellite out of the sky at the same time. :shock:

orange-n-brown 365 · Post by **orange-n-brown 365** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:32 pm

Yes it will be weird the boys are excited and I have my science lesson in for the day :-D

I think they will be able to do this from the house tonight I hope so! I'll probably snooze through it and let Mr. Orange n Brown supervise :-D

Post by **Orange and Brown** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:32 pm

I think I'll pass on this one. I've seen one and thats all I need to see. :-D

Burg_Grad_77 · Post by **Burg_Grad_77** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:41 pm

I can see it really well from here at the plant in Haverhill. Really cool.

ballparent · Post by **ballparent** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:46 pm

We've got a clear sky here for a few minutes at least and there's only a fingernail left of the moon before the total eclipse and the moon's red. :shock:

orange-n-brown 365 · Post by **orange-n-brown 365** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:47 pm

it is neat my boys are amazed! I am watching it online :-D

mohawkbaseball#1 · Post by **mohawkbaseball#1** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:49 pm

can you guys see the rings of saturn?

ballparent · Post by **ballparent** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:57 pm

mohawkbaseball#1 wrote:can you guys see the rings of saturn?

My husband's out looking for them with the telescope right now. I told him to get me when he has them focused in.

It's cold. I'll get back if he finds them. Well, we have clouds now...maybe they'll pass soon.

OZZIEOHIO · Post by **OZZIEOHIO** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:04 pm

My kids are amazed. I wish we had a telascope for a close up.

ballparent · Post by **ballparent** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:08 pm

OZZIEOHIO wrote:My kids are amazed. I wish we had a telascope for a close up.

You know, we've had ours for years, it's an antique and rarely use it but it's one of those things that are great a couple times a year. But just collects dust the rest of the time. If you have binoculars they will work some but it's gotten really cloudy here now and we can't see anything.

OZZIEOHIO · Post by **OZZIEOHIO** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:11 pm

I have bought 2 in the last 4 years but with kids like mine they dont last long. LOL!! My son took the first one apart to see how it works and the second never did work right, it may have gotten dropped while someone was trying to figure out there Xmas present.

ballparent · Post by **ballparent** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:17 pm

Still cloudy here, we're going to give it about a half hour and then I'm (he's :lol:

) giving up. Would like to see the rings though.

orange-n-brown 365 · Post by **orange-n-brown 365** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:19 pm

didn't see the rings but our cheaper telescope came in handy :-D

to look at the lunar eclipse :-D

Burg_Grad_77 · Post by **Burg_Grad_77** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:32 am

mohawkbaseball#1 wrote:can you guys see the rings of saturn?

No, but I've been told that if you stand naked on a mirror you can see Uranus.

caglewis · Post by **caglewis** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:56 am

Here in Ironton there was a lot of cloud cover for the "going-under" part from 8:45 til 10:00 - only intermittent glimpses of the moon possible.
However, just after 10:00 when the eclipse became complete, the clouds finally cleared and there was excellent viewing possible of the "complete" phase and the subsequent "coming-back-out" phase til midnight.
I was using a pair of 7X50 binoculars - I have a 12X60 pair, but they are just too heavy for me to hold up with my injured right arm, and it was just too cumbersome [and too cold] to lug out my tripod to hold them.

Back in January of 2000 there was a lunar eclipse on the night my younger granddaughter was born in Cincinnati.
There were about 6 inches of snow on the ground; the temperature was in single digits, and the streets of their neighborhood slick with ice. By the next morning it was below 0.
Her two older siblings and I arrived back to their house from the hospital after she was born just as the eclipse started. There had been multiple snow storms over the preceeding week, but that night the skies were clear.
My grandson [her older brother] and I were remembering that lunar eclipse night very well as we watched the one tonight!