Treat tonight for Easterner Skygazers

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Toecutter

What would DoG do?
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Take some pics for us less fortunates!

March 2, 2007 — It will take practically no effort to witness what promises to be a beautiful celestial event this weekend. Simply walk outside at sunset on Saturday and look to the east.

The full moon will be making its way skyward, dressed in red. The eclipse occurs because Earth will be exactly positioned between the sun and the moon so that most of the light falling on the moon is effectively blocked by Earth.

The moon's unusual coloring is caused by the bending of light waves that have curved around Earth and filtered through the atmosphere. The hue depends on how much dust exists there.

Parts of the eclipse, the first of two that will occur this year, will be visible on every continent, said Fred Espenak, with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Viewers in Europe, Africa, western Asia and part of Antarctica are in position to watch the entire eclipse.

In the Americas, the eclipse will be underway by the time the moon rises, according to NASA scientists. The full eclipse ends at 6:57 p.m. EST. After that, the moon will slowly shed its reddish cloak and turn sparklingly bright — provided there are no Earthly clouds in the way to block the view.

Unlike solar eclipses, there is no need to worry about protective eyeware when you watch Earth's shadow pass over the face of the full moon. The only sunlight you'll be seeing is what bounces off the moon — just a tiny fraction of the rays visible during a solar eclipse, for example.

Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between Earth and the sun. Looking directly into the sun, even though its visible light is blocked by the moon, can cause severe damage, or even blindness, to the unprotected human eye.

If cloudy skies prevent good viewing of Saturday's eclipse, take heart: You'll get another chance to see the moon disappear on Aug. 28. For that one though, you'll have to get up early. Show time begins at 4:50 a.m.

 
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Guess I missed it :(
No, its tonight.

Total Lunar Eclipse of March 03

2007 Mar 03 Eclipse

Total Lunar Eclipse of 2007 Mar 03

Total Lunar Eclipse of March 03

The first of two total lunar eclipses in 2007 is unique in that it is partly visible from every continent around the world. The eclipse occurs at the descending node, 3.2 days before apogee and 1.9 days after the Moon occults Saturn (northern and eastern Europe). During the eclipse, the Moon is in southern Leo, about 13º east of the 1.3-magnitude star Regulus (alpha Leo). The Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the northern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 73 minutes. The timings of the major phases of the eclipse are listed below.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 20:18:11 UT

Partial Eclipse Begins: 21:30:22 UT

Total Eclipse Begins: 22:44:13 UT

Greatest Eclipse: 23:20:56 UT

Total Eclipse Ends: 23:57:37 UT

Partial Eclipse Ends: 01:11:28 UT

Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 02:23:44 UT

The Moon's path through Earth's shadows as well as a map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event are shown in Figure 1.

At the instant of greatest eclipse (23:21 UT) the Moon will lie in the zenith for observers in Nigeria and Cameroon. At this time, the umbral magnitude peaks at 1.2331 as the Moon's southern limb passes 2.4 arc-minutes north of the shadow's central axis. In contrast, the Moon's northern limb will lie 6.9 arc-minutes from the northern edge of the umbra and 32.2 arc-minutes from the shadow centre. Thus the northern sections of the Moon will appear much brighter than the southern part, which lies deeper in the shadow. Since the Moon samples a large range of umbral depths during totality, its appearance will change dramatically with time. It is not possible to predict the exact brightness distribution in the umbra, so observers are encouraged to estimate the Danjon value at different times during totality (see Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness). Note that it may also be necessary to assign different Danjon values to different portions of the Moon (i.e. north vs. south).

During totality, the spring constellations will be well placed for viewing so a number of bright stars can be used for magnitude comparisons. Spica (mv = +0.98) is 40º southeast of the eclipsed Moon, while Arcturus (mv = -0.05) is 49º to the northeast. Alphard or Alpha Hya (mv = +1.99) is 28º to the southwest and Procyon (mv = -0.05) is 50º to the west. Saturn shines at magnitude +0.8 about 24º northwest of the Moon near the western border of Leo.

The entire event will be visible from Europe, Africa and western Asia. In eastern Asia, moonset occurs during various stages of the eclipse. For example, the Moon sets while in total eclipse from central China and southeast Asia. Western Australia catches part of the initial partial phases but the Moon sets before totality. Observers in eastern North and South America will find the Moon already partially or totality eclipsed at moonrise. From western North America, only the final penumbral phases are visible.

Table 1 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for 20 well-defined lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement of Earth's shadow (see Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).

 
Sorry, no pics but I can report that it was spectacular :clapping: . Crystal clear skies. We were supposed to be able to see the space station also but I was to lazy to drive down to the beach to check it out.

 
View from Florida- Reminds me, Thanks for doing group "HooP Buy " Toecutter

lunareclispe005.jpg


 
Since it's a cut and post thread....I'll add to the mystique. "It's not an event that has any scientific value, but it's something everybody can enjoy," ....thanks cnn....appreciate it.

 
Since it's a cut and post thread....I'll add to the mystique. "It's not an event that has any scientific value, but it's something everybody can enjoy," ....thanks cnn....appreciate it.
No scientific value?

Please its the begining of Ragnarok.

The moon has been swallowed! CNN just doesn't know how to report anything accurately.

 
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