Post by Bennett D. Ebberly on Nov 7, 2003 19:26:09 GMT -5
Total Lunar Eclipse Saturday Night
7AM EST, November 6, 2003
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Justin Consor
The second and last lunar eclipse of 2003 will be provide a treat for the eyes for sky watchers across eastern North America on Saturday evening, November 8.
On Saturday night, a full moon will streak underneath the earth`s shadow across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and western and southern parts of Asia. Click on the link "Areas Affected by Eclipse" for details on its extent.
The total eclipse will begin at 8:06 PM EST and last only 25 minutes, making it a notably brief one. The end of the entire eclipse will be around midnight.
Current forecasts indicate that mostly clear skies will allow excellent viewing in the northern Plains, from southern California into the desert southwest, and from the eastern Great Lakes into the northeast and northern mid-Atlantic. See the link "Sky Cover Forecast" to the right for more detail.
A lunar eclipse is the obscuring of the moon`s light by the earth`s shadow. This can happen only happen during a full moon. The Earth`s shadow includes two parts: the penumbra, which blocks some (but not all) of the Sun`s rays, and the umbra, which blocks all direct sun.
When the moon passes through only the penumbra, a relatively unimpressive penumbral eclipse occurs. When the moon only passes through a part of the Umbra, a partial eclipse occurs. Finally, when the Moon passes completely through the umbral shadow, a total eclipse takes place.
Up to three lunar eclipses can occur in one year, though some years feature none. Typically, a third of the globe will see a full lunar eclipse, the surrounding third will see part of the eclipse, and the rest of the globe will miss out.
While the eclipse involves the moon`s light being blocked by the earth`s shadow, an eclipsed moon normally stays brighter than the majority of stars in the night sky. It can turn orange or even blood red.
Other factors such as pollution and volcanic eruptions can alter the visibility of the moon. Using detailed observations from sky watchers, astronomers can estimate how bright the moon is - its magnitude.
The next lunar eclipse that will be visible in North America will be nearly a year from now, on October 28, 2004, so don`t miss this rare opportunity. Look for sky charts from Sky and Telescope magazine.
See also:
wwc.weatherbug.com/images/bugtoday/eclipse_110803.jpg
HERE is another article on this upcoming eclipse tomorrow night:
Stargazers Await Weekend Lunar Eclipse
Fri Nov 7, 9:41 AM ET
By RICK CALLAHAN, Associated Press Writer
Stargazers across North America will watch the full moon dim into a dark, ruddy orb Saturday night as the moon drifts through Earth's shadow in the latest celestial event this year to pull eyes skyward.
Astronomers who scrutinized Mars this summer during its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years were more recently awed by red and green aurora displays as far south as Florida thanks to big explosions on the sun.
And now more heavenly happenings are on the way.
Saturday's lunar eclipse will be followed by the Leonid meteor shower, a total solar eclipse over the southern hemisphere — and a chance for more auroras if the sun stays active. Another eruption Tuesday on the sun may rank among the most intense solar events ever recorded. But the explosion was aimed away from Earth, meaning it would have little impact here.
Still, the otherworldly event the public has the best chance of seeing is Saturday's total eclipse of the moon. At its peak, the moon will hang eerily in the night sky like a dark, reddish-orange coal.
Unlike unpredictable comets and meteors, the moon is a reliable show, said Stephen Maran, a spokesman for the American Astronomical Society.
"Nowadays people who've grown up in the city or suburbs have never seen the Milky Way, but even in the most light-polluted place I've ever been — downtown Los Angeles — you can see the moon," he said.
Weather cooperating, people in the eastern United States will witness the entire eclipse; it will already be under way when the moon rises around sunset in the West.
The eclipse reaches totality at 8:06 p.m. EST. That stage — when the moon, Earth and sun are lined up precisely and the moon passes through the darkest part of Earth's shadow — lasts just 24 minutes.
The eclipse can also be seen in South America, Europe and Africa. The last eclipse of the moon visible from North America was on May 15, but much of the United States was cloudy.
Unlike eclipses of the sun, which can damage viewers' unprotected eyes, lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye or binoculars.
Total lunar eclipses come in many colors, from dark brown and red to bright orange, yellow and even gray, depending on how much dust and clouds are in the Earth's atmosphere at that time, Maran said.
In ancient times, the phenomenon was believed caused by some unseen monster bloodying the moon, an omen of disaster.
If clouds blot out Saturday's event, disappointed viewers won't have to wait long before the annual Leonid meteor shower arrives.
For North American viewers, the shooting star display peaks Nov. 19 with 100 or so meteors per hour, some of them fireballs, said Stuart Levy of the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society in central Illinois.
Levy's views of spectacular Leonid showers during the past few years were ruined by clouds, but he'll be trying again this month.
"I've missed the best, when people were seeing hundreds of meteors an hour. If I see 100 an hour this time around I'll be happy. It might be a really good show, with luck," he said.
Nov. 28 also will bring a total solar eclipse, although seeing it will require a bit of travel. It will be visible only in Antarctica.
See also the URL---this page contains more valuable info on the eclipse!
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031107/ap_on_sc/lunar_eclipse_1
See this website for more exciting information on the eclipse:
skyandtelescope.com/