Administrator Tarun Posted February 21, 2008 Administrator Share Posted February 21, 2008 On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red and possibly turquoise, too. It's a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010. The Sun goes down. The Moon comes up. You go out and look at the sky. Observing the eclipse is that easy. Maximum eclipse, and maximum beauty, occurs at 10:26 pm EST (7:26 pm PST). A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through the shadow of Earth. You might expect the Moon to grow even more ashen than usual, but in fact it transforms into an orb of vivid red. Why red? That is the color of Earth's shadow. Consider the following: Most shadows we're familiar with are black or gray; step outside on a sunny day and look at your own. Earth's shadow is different because, unlike you, Earth has an atmosphere. The delicate layer of dusty air surrounding our planet reddens and redirects the light of the sun, filling the dark behind Earth with a sunset-red glow. The exact tint--anything from bright orange to blood red is possible--depends on the unpredictable state of the atmosphere at the time of the eclipse. "Only the shadow knows," says astronomer Jack Horkheimer of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium. Transiting the shadow's core takes about an hour. The first hints of red appear around 10 pm EST (7 pm PST), heralding a profusion of coppery hues that roll across the Moon's surface enveloping every crater, mountain and moon rock, only to fade away again after 11 pm EST (8 pm PST). No special filter or telescope is required to see this spectacular event. It is a bright and leisurely display visible from cities and countryside alike. While you're watching, be alert for another color: turquoise. Observers of several recent lunar eclipses have reported a flash of turquoise bracketing the red of totality. "The blue and turquoise shades at the edge of Earth's shadow were incredible," recalls amateur astronomer Eva Seidenfaden of Trier, Germany, who took the picture at right during the European lunar eclipse of March 3-4, 2007. Dozens of other photographers have documented the same phenomenon. The source of the turquoise is ozone. Eclipse researcher Dr. Richard Keen of the University of Colorado explains: "During a lunar eclipse, most of the light illuminating the moon passes through the stratosphere where it is reddened by scattering. However, light passing through the upper stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer, which absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer." This can be seen, he says, as a soft blue fringe around the red core of Earth's shadow. To catch the turquoise on Feb. 20th, he advises, "look during the first and last minutes of totality." That would be around 10:01 pm EST and 10:51 pm EST (7:01 and 7:51 pm PST). Blood red, bright orange, gentle turquoise: it's all good. Mark your calendar in vivid color for the Feb. 20th lunar eclipse. View: Time zones: GMT, AST, EST, CST, MST, PST, Alaska, Hawaii | International Source: NASA.gov Link: Lunarsoft Frontpage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish4323 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I did get a chance to see it, and it was spectacular! A friend of mine in Michigan took these pics, the last one is Saturn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted February 22, 2008 Author Administrator Share Posted February 22, 2008 Very cool trish! Thanks for sharing these! I got to watch it too and it was awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldmannen Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Thanks for sharing the pictures. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Those are great, thanks! Though a clear night in February is pretty rare around here, we were lucky and got one; so I got to see it, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldmannen Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 February 2008 lunar eclipse on Wikipedia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Sadly... the weather here in Vancouver wasn't too friendly that night. The clouds arrived at about 1800, and then cleared out again at 0100 - just the perfect window to hide the glory. Anyone know when the next solar eclipse is due to hit North America? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldmannen Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Sadly... the weather here in Vancouver wasn't too friendly that night. The clouds arrived at about 1800, and then cleared out again at 0100 - just the perfect window to hide the glory. Anyone know when the next solar eclipse is due to hit North America? This was a lunar eclipse, not a solar eclipse. Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008 Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 List of 21st century lunar eclipses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted February 25, 2008 Author Administrator Share Posted February 25, 2008 Sadly... the weather here in Vancouver wasn't too friendly that night. The clouds arrived at about 1800, and then cleared out again at 0100 - just the perfect window to hide the glory. Anyone know when the next solar eclipse is due to hit North America? From the first sentence in the article: On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red and possibly turquoise, too. It's a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxian Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 This was a lunar eclipse, not a solar eclipse. Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008 Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 I realize that it was a lunar eclipse, but I find solar eclipses much more spectacular. Thanks for the links. From the first sentence in the article: On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red and possibly turquoise, too. It's a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010. Lunar eclipse... I was asking about solar. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted February 26, 2008 Author Administrator Share Posted February 26, 2008 Ahh, so it wasn't a typo. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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