A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth lines up directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow over the moon's surface. During Wednesday
night's eclipse, the moon will be covered by the earth's shadow for about 50 minutes.
In Baja Ca. should be able to view the eclipse starting 5:40pm, with the most spectacular view from 7 p-m to 7:50... And ending at 9:09.Bruce R Leech - 2-19-2008 at 08:42 PM
The last total lunar eclipse until December 20, 2010, will thrill observers throughout North America February 20.
"This eclipse is perfect for getting the family together," Astronomy Senior Editor Michael Bakich says, "because it begins early in the evening."
On February 20, eclipse observers should plan to get out lawn chairs, binoculars, and low-power eyepieces. And, this year, better add a blanket.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon, in orbit around Earth, passes into Earth's shadow. Because the Sun isn't a point of light, the shadow has two
parts — the inner, darker umbra and the outer, lighter penumbra. If the whole Moon enters the umbra, the eclipse is total. If the umbra hides only
part of the Moon, the eclipse is partial.
The eclipse's umbral phase begins at 8:43 P.M. EST. On the East Coast, the Moon already stands one-third of the way up in the eastern sky. For West
Coast observers, the Moon rises minutes after the umbra touches its surface.
Earth's shadow takes 78 minutes to envelop the Moon. Totality (when the Moon lies completely within Earth's umbra) begins at 10:01 P.M. EST. The Moon
won't disappear, however. Some sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere falls on the lunar surface. The cleaner our atmosphere is, the lighter the
eclipse will be. Dark eclipses generally occur after large volcanic eruptions.
August’s lunar eclipse, seen here, put on a nice show from western North America. This month’s total eclipse, in contrast, favors the whole continent.
Stephen James O’Meara [View Larger Image]What color will the Moon turn at mideclipse? During past total eclipses, the Moon has appeared brown, orange,
crimson, and brick red. Lunar eclipses exhibit a range of shades because sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere becomes scattered and reddened.
It's this dim glow that fills Earth's shadow and lights the eclipsed Moon.
During totality, the Moon's northern edge will appear darker than its southern side. This disparity occurs because the Moon's northern limb will lie
closer to the center of Earth's shadow.
Totality lasts 51 minutes. During the first half, as the sky becomes progressively darker, the background stars of Leo the Lion will appear. The
constellation's brightest star, Regulus, appears 3° (6 Moon-widths) above the Moon.
You also will spot Saturn easily 4° (8 Moon-widths) to the Moon's lower left. The eclipse is a great time to notice how the Moon moves through the
sky. As the eclipse begins, the Moon lies 4.4° from Saturn. When the event ends, the gap measures only 3.5°.
After totality, it takes the Moon another 78 minutes to leave Earth's umbra.vandenberg - 2-19-2008 at 09:03 PM
Thanks Bruce.!!Marie-Rose - 2-19-2008 at 09:29 PM
Really was looking forward to seeing it up here in Victoria but looks like we have had our 2 days of sun quota
Hope you lucky ones with clear skies enjoy!!!Bruce R Leech - 2-19-2008 at 09:37 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by vandenberg
Thanks Bruce.!!
you are very welcome vandenbergRuss - 2-20-2008 at 06:33 AM
Wish you had posted earlier Bruce. A friend of a friend...... said it was last night so a few of us got together and waited....& waited..... &
waited. Guess we'll play again tonight. It was a really nice night anyway and there was a bright ring around the moon. Anyone remember what the ring
is suppose to mean? Hope the sky clears cuz it's cloudy right now here.BajaTrooper - 2-20-2008 at 08:18 AM
A Ring Around The Moon
The ring around the Moon is caused by the refraction of Moonlight (which of course is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.
The shape of the ice crystals results in a focusing of the light into a ring. Since the ice crystals typically have the same shape, namely a hexagonal
shape, the Moon ring is almost always the same size.
Less typical are the halos that may be produced by different angles in the crystals. They can create halos with an angle of 46 degrees.
Moon Ring Weather Folklore
Folklore has it that a ring around the moon signifies bad weather is coming, and in many cases this may be true. So how can rings around the moon be a
predictor of weather to come? The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a warm front by one
or two days. Typically, a warm front will be associated with a low pressure system which is commonly referred to as a storm.
It is believed that the number of stars within a moon halo indicate the number days before bad weather will arrive. Give it a try the next time you
observe a moon halo.Bruce R Leech - 2-20-2008 at 10:43 AM
well I hope there will be lots of beach party's tonight.shari - 2-20-2008 at 11:11 AM
muchas gracias for the notice...nomad Santiago will be in lovely dark San Roque tonight where it will be perfect for eclipse watching! I wonder how
this will affect the fishing?? Do any of you agree that fishing is worse around the full moon? Juan says it is. Also i believe there is some folklore
about putting a red ribbon around the trees for a reason I can't remember...also pregnant women must do the same with the red ribbon so their newborn
won't have birth defects because of it..oh wait, I think that's the eclipse of the sun...oooopsOsprey - 2-20-2008 at 12:07 PM
Our whole village is out right now tieing red flags to their fruit trees -- it keeps the blossoms from falling off the tree before it can make fruit
DURING AN ECILPSE OF THE MOON OR SUN. Maya lure I think. My big mango tree is loaded with blossums so my flag goes on tonight.David K - 2-20-2008 at 12:25 PM
Osprey, is there a web site of old legends regarding fruit trees and moon phases?
Doc of Camp Gecko made a request of Jose of San Borja for a pomegranate cutting when we took a drive out there. Jose studied the calendar to see what
phase the moon was in before agreeing to take a cutting from the tree at San Borja!CaboRon - 2-20-2008 at 05:28 PM
Unfortunately the temp is droping and a lot of cloud cover is moving in over Todso Santos..... I hope it clears out before the Eclipse tonight ....
am really looking forward to seeing it.
CaboRonOsprey - 2-20-2008 at 07:54 PM
David, I'll find out more about it and give you a report. Just witnessed the eclipse here - some scattered clouds but oh, so clear in between. Quite
a sight. It is just about at the max covering right now. Only for the last hour or so could I have an idea of the size of the earth compared to the
moon based on the curve of the shadow working its way across. Between us and the moon our shadow seems to take up about 15 % of the half dome of
night angle visible with the moon.Marie-Rose - 2-20-2008 at 08:10 PM
The clouds here in Victoria have cleared and we have a fabulous view of the full eclipse from the front porch
Sure hope the daughter in TS is able to see it as well!!!bajabound2005 - 2-20-2008 at 08:12 PM
It's like the clouds parted for us to see this! It's fantastic. Bajamigo will post some pixs soon (as seen from just south of Ensenada!)CaboRon - 2-20-2008 at 08:19 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajabound2005
It's like the clouds parted for us to see this! It's fantastic. Bajamigo will post some pixs soon (as seen from just south of Ensenada!)
Same thing happened in Todos Santos... it was beautiful...
Here is a pic just before totality.....
CaboRon
[Edited on 2-21-2008 by CaboRon]
Beautiful and Clear in Rosarito
Gypsy Jan - 2-20-2008 at 08:20 PM
All day long it was cloudy and rained, on and off.
I was grousing about how disappointed I would be if I couldn't see the eclipse.
Maybe someone was listening - the skies cleared, and I just watched a brown-red moon completely disappear. Wow is just a small word for the beauty of
the experience.
I saw two stars around the moon - to the lower left, I am guessing that was Saturn and I wonder what the one above is.
Corrections and more info cheerfully solicited.vandenberg - 2-20-2008 at 08:29 PM
According to Bruce's inf. the one above the moon is Regulus and the one below is Saturn.
Beautiful and clear here in Loreto.
Have seen a few of them, but they surely can't compare with a full solar eclipse. Only seen 2 of them and that's remarkable ,since they are rare.
[Edited on 2-21-2008 by vandenberg]thebajarunner - 2-20-2008 at 08:46 PM
Bright and clear here in Central Calif.
But nothing compares to the solar eclipse of 1991 that we saw from KM 100!
That was awesome!!
emerging moon
tehag - 2-20-2008 at 08:58 PM
Just coming out of totality at 8:35
greybaby - 2-20-2008 at 09:26 PM
Just viewed the eclipse over the beautiful skies of Idaho - the only better view would be from Baja I'm sure. Enjoy it for all of us you who are
there.
eclipse pics
standingwave - 2-20-2008 at 10:16 PM
Here's the view from central BC (that's BC with a brrrr, not BC with an ah...)
Actually its above freezing and nearly all the snow has gone - almost spring
amir - 2-21-2008 at 12:32 AM
We were at the beach with our drumming group and friends during the whole eclipse. The drumming, the bonfire, the surf, a few sips of tequila, and the
eclipse… it was one of those very special evenings…The Gull - 2-21-2008 at 06:56 AM
That was a very interesting display.
I read that Columbus used an eclipse of the moon to con the local people to feed his crew.
When I tried that last night, I still had to pay the bill.
America has changed and not for the better.CaboRon - 2-21-2008 at 06:57 AM
Oh well mabey next time.