Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Total Lunar Eclipse Feb 20-21


Total eclipse of October 2004, when the Red Sox won the World Series!

(I intended to publish this days ago, but my computer had problems. That will be the subject of my next post! LOL)

Get ready for a total lunar eclipse! The entire eclipse will be visible to most of the Western Hemisphere. It will begin during the evening of Wednesday the 20th for North and South America. Observers in Western Europe and West Africa will see it during the early morning hours of Thursday the 21st.

Below I have listed the North American times in which the different parts of the eclipse will occur. I left out the penumbra stages since that is not readily visible to the casual observer. I have included a link to the European Space Agency website where you will find their time tables listed at the end of this post.

Partial Eclipse begins 8:43 PM EST, 7:43 PM CST, 6:43 PM MST, and 5:43 PM PST
Total Eclipse begins . 10:00 PM EST, 9:00 PM CST, 8:00 PM MST, and 7:00 PM PST
Mid Eclipse begins ... 10:26 PM EST, 9:26 PM CST, 8:26 PM MST, and 7:26 PM PST
Total Eclipse ends ... 10:52 PM EST, 9:52 PM CST, 8:52 PM MST, and 7:52 PM PST
Partial Eclipse ends ..12:09 AM EST, 11:09 PM CST, 10:09 PM MST, and 9:09 PM PST


Unlike the last lunar eclipse on August 28, 2007 that began low on the horizon, this eclipse will find the moon high in the sky and perfect for observing the entire event. An added bonus this time will be the very bright "star" just northeast of the moon - the planet Saturn. Close by to the northwest will be the bright star Regulus. Saturn will shine at the largest and brightest it will appear all year. Whether you gaze at this pretty trio with your unaided eyes, binoculars or a telescope, it will be a spectacular sight.

The next total lunar eclipse visible to North and South America won't occur again until December 20 - 21 of 2010! I wish all the observers clear skies and decent temperatures!

Timetable from the European Space Agency

My report on the August 2007 lunar eclipse

See an animation of the eclipse here

10 comments:

storyteller said...

Thanks for sharing this information. It's happening early enough that I might actually be awake for the event! LOL
Hugs and blessings,

Mary said...

Tina,

Great! I'm hoping the night of the 21st is clear so Brandon can see the eclipse at least start. He is an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy so he may not see the total eclipse. However, I know whatever part of it he sees, he will enjoy.

Thanks for the information.
Blessings,
Mary

Tina Coruth said...

Hi Storyteller!

I hope you get to see it! Thank you for stopping by. :-)

Hugs,
Tina

Tina Coruth said...

Mary,

The eclipse for North America will be on the evening of the 20th. It will be the 21st for Western Europe and West Africa.

It's so unfortunate that most astronomical events take place too late for children. I know Brandon would love it.

Hugs,
Tina

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Tina,

I was so looking forward to this event since I heard about it. But, unfortunately, the forecast for tomorrow night into Thursday and beyond, is for mixed frozen precipitation! So, we will not have clear skies. I'm still hoping the forecast is wrong, and I'll be able to see it, and take photos of it. But, there is a "but" to contend with. Hope you take lots of photos. I look forward to seeing them.

Have a great evening!

Hugs,

Renie

PS. You did such a great job of explaining this event. Your enthusiasm for the subject makes it so much more interesting!

Mike Golch said...

thank you for shareing this info,I look forward to watching the eclispe.
I can totally relate to the computer not co-operating.mine gives me fits at least once every two weeks,and this is with a firewall and a good anti-virus system.I swear the these things have minds of their own and plot agaist us.Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!Mike

Tina Coruth said...

Renie,

Sorry to hear about the frozen precipitation forcast. That's the worst. This seems to have been a bad year for icy storms. I hope the forcast is wrong!

The forcast for my area is iffy. We might have cloudy skies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. As it is, I won't be able to use my telescope. I've gotten some decent moon shots through the finderscope. But we've had so much snow topped by ice, that there is no place to put my telescope safely.

Maybe we will at least both get lucky with the weather forcasts!!

Thank you for your kind words about my article. You brought a smile to my face! :-)

Hugs,
Tina

Tina Coruth said...

Mike,

I think you are onto something about computers plotting against us. I love my computer, but sometimes I feel like heaving it out the window! LOL

I hope you have great weather for the eclipse!

Tina

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Tina,

Did you see the eclipse? I saw the first part, and even took several pictures! Not great ones, but not bad. I will post some later tonight. After the moon was blocked out, the clouds rolled in and I did not see its return, unfortunately. I am curious if you watched it and took pictures. I hope so.

Hugs,

Renie

Tina Coruth said...

Renie,

Yes, I did see the eclipse. I thoroghly enjoyed it. I took photos - mine not the greatest. But I'm just happy I was able to get some. Maybe later on I will post my "out takes." I have some that look as though we are under invasion from space! LOL

I'm sorry the clouds rolled in on your sky. I look forward to seeing your photos!!

Hugs,
Tina