For close to an hour Wednesday night, the moon will completely disappear from the sky.
But, weather permitting, it won’t be cloud cover that will block out the light from Earth’s satellite, it will be the Earth itself.
It’s called a lunar eclipse, and it occurs when the Earth moves between the moon and the sun at just the right angle. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about the event and how to make the most of it.
What is a lunar eclipse?A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the moon and the sun, blocking the light that reflects off the moon’s surface back to Earth.
Although the moon orbits to the far side of the planet every month, physics Professor Stephen Reynolds said we don’t get eclipses that often because the moon misses Earth’s shadow.
Of course, the size of the Earth and moon are also a factor. If the moon were any closer to our planet, or if it were more comparable in size, the eclipse wouldn’t be as complete.
“It’s just a coincidence that the sun is about as far away from the moon as it is larger,” Reynolds said.
Time8:43 p.m. Partial eclipse begins10:01 p.m. Total eclipse begins10:26 p.m. Mid-eclipse10:51 p.m. Total eclipse ends12:09 a.m. Partial eclipse ends
WeatherWednesday nightMostly cloudy
Temperature9 p.m.: 43 degreesMidnight: 39 degrees
Wind chill9 p.m.: 37 degreesMidnight: 32 degrees
It will be a chilly night Wednesday, as temperatures drop from their recent warm periods. But the real problem when it comes to the eclipse is the cloud cover. A mostly cloudy forecast may hurt your chances of viewing the event.
According to Reynolds, however, the moon’s brightness may help you see the eclipse even if there is some cloud cover.
“The moon is bright — and a few percent of bright is still bright,” Reynolds said. “The part that emerges from the shadow almost burns your eyes — you forget how bright it is.”
EquipmentYou don’t need anything special to view the eclipse.
“The best view is just to go and look,” Reynolds said.
Who can see it?Unlike solar eclipses, which have a more limited visibility, anybody viewing a full moon can see lunar eclipses.
“The great thing about a lunar eclipse is that the whole planet gets to observe it — if you’re in the right hemisphere,” Reynolds said.
According to NASA predictions, Wednesday’s eclipse is visible to the central Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Reynolds said this makes lunar eclipses a unifying event for the entire world.
“It’s a nice thing when people stop arguing and start looking up,” Reynolds said. “The fact that its shared across the world is a nice feature.”
What to watch forReynolds said lunar eclipses aren’t as simple as black and white.
“The most impressive thing is watching the change in color,” Reynolds said. “[The moon] turns this bizarre blood-red color.”
That’s because unlike solar eclipses, where the moon is blocking the sun, the Earth has an atmosphere. Light passes through that atmosphere, getting bent and diffused.
“The shadow is fuzzy because of the Earth’s atmosphere,” Reynolds said.
The result is similar to what you see during a deep-red sunset, Reynolds said.
But for ancient civilizations, the events weren’t so appealing.
“Red is traditionally associated with war and mayhem,” Reynolds said. “For most, these were really terrifying.”
TimelinePeople have been observing eclipses of the sun and moon for about 3,000 years, Reynolds said. Unfortunately, they had no idea why it happened.
Even before Nicolaus Coppernicus, who developed a mathematical model for a planetary system that moved around the sun, Reynolds said astronomers were able to predict eclipses.
But as science progressed, and our understanding of the solar system increased, astronomers were eventually able to pinpoint eclipses down to the minute.
“Predictions just got more and more accurate as time went on,” Reynolds said.
Take a look at the last five and the next five lunar eclipses.
Date Lunar eclipse typeOct. 17, 2005 PartialMarch 14, 2006 PenumbralSept. 7, 2006 PartialMarch 3, 2007 TotalAug. 28, 2007 TotalFeb. 20, 2008 TotalAug. 16, 2008 PartialFeb. 9, 2009 PenumbralJuly 7, 2009 PenumbralAug. 6, 2009 PenumbralDec. 31, 2009 Partial
Coming up in the TechnicianCheck out Thursday’s edition of the Technician to see photos and a story of Wednesday night’s lunar eclipse.
SOURCE: Eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, forecasting by the National Weather Service
