A Total Eclipse of the Moon is due Feb 20/21
There is a lunar eclipse coming in just 10 days time. I always forget these celestial events are going on, so thought I would mention it. I still remember my first eclipse. It was in the early 80’s and it happened during the day, it was quite dramatic. I remember a friend’s dad bringing out a few welding masks where I lived in Northern BC, Canada. The sky darkened and a hush fell across the land.
For more information: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html
Times and Phases of the Total Lunar Eclipse of February 20/21, 2008
From start to finish, February’s lunar eclipse lasts about three hours and twenty-six minutes (not including the penumbral phases which are very difficult to see). The partial eclipse begins as the Moon’s eastern edge slowly moves into the Earth’s umbral shadow. During the partial phases, it takes just over an hour for the Moon’s orbital motion to carry it entirely within the Earth’s dark umbra. The color and brightness of the totally eclipsed Moon can vary considerably from one eclipse to another. Dark eclipses are caused by volcanic gas and dust which filters and blocks much of the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon. But since no major volcanic eruptions have taken place recently, the Moon will probably take on a vivid red or orange color during the total phase. After the total phase ends, it is once again followed by a partial eclipse as the Moon gradually leaves the umbral shadow.
The total phase of a lunar eclipse is called totality. At this time, the Moon is completely immersed within the Earth’s dark umbral shadow. During the February 20 eclipse totality will last just under 50 minutes. This is quite a bit less than the last total lunar eclipse ( August 28, 2007) which lasted 90 minutes.
The major phases of the eclipse occur as follows (all times are GMT or Greenwich Mean Time). The partial eclipse commences with first umbral contact at 01:43 GMT. Totality begins at 03:01 GMT and lasts until 03:51 GMT. The partial phases end at 05:09 GMT. Eclipse times for time zones in the United States and Canada are shown in the following table.
For more information visit this external NASA link:
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