Total Lunar Eclipse December 21 - Tonight the moon will turn red

[Pathfinder]

Total Lunar Eclipse of December 21


The last lunar eclipse of 2010 is especially well placed for observers throughout North America. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node in eastern Taurus, four days before perigee.
The Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the northern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 72 minutes. The Moon's path through Earth's shadows as well as a map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event are shown in Figure 4. The timings of the major eclipse phases are listed below.


Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 05:29:17 UTPartial Eclipse Begins: 06:32:37 UTTotal Eclipse Begins: 07:40:47 UTGreatest Eclipse: 08:16:57 UTTotal Eclipse Ends: 08:53:08 UTPartial Eclipse Ends: 10:01:20 UTPenumbral Eclipse Ends: 11:04:31 UT
</PRE>At the instant of greatest eclipse (08:17 UT) the Moon lies near the zenith for observers in southern California and Baja Mexico. At this time, the umbral magnitude peaks at 1.2561 as the Moon's southern limb passes 2.8 arc-minutes north of the shadow's central axis. In contrast, the Moon's northern limb lies 8.1 arc-minutes from the northern edge of the umbra and 34.6 arc-minutes from the shadow center. Thus, the southern half of the Moon will appear much darker than the northern half because it lies deeper in the umbra. Since the Moon samples a large range of umbral depths during totality, its appearance will change dramatically with time. It is not possible to predict the exact brightness distribution in the umbra, so observers are encouraged to estimate the Danjon value at different times during totality (see Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness). Note that it may also be necessary to assign different Danjon values to different portions of the Moon (i.e., north vs. south).
During totality, the winter constellations are well placed for viewing so a number of bright stars can be used for magnitude comparisons. Pollux (mv = +1.16) is 25? east of the eclipsed Moon, while Betelgeuse (mv = +0.45) is 16? to the south, Aldebaran (mv = +0.87) is 20? to the west, and Capella (mv = +0.08) is 24? to the north.
The entire event is visible from North America and western South America. Observers along South America's east coast miss the late stages of the eclipse because they occur after moonset. Likewise much of Europe and Africa experience moonset while the eclipse is in progress. Only northern Scandinavians can catch the entire event from Europe. For observers in eastern Asia the Moon rises in eclipse. None of the eclipse is visible from south and east Africa, the Middle East or South Asia.
Table 6 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for 20 well-defined lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement of Earth's shadow (see Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).
The December 21 total lunar eclipse belongs to Saros 125 a series of 72 eclipses in the following sequence: 17 penumbral, 13 partial, 26 total, 9 partial, and 7 penumbral lunar eclipses (Espenak and Meeus, 2009). Complete details for the series can be found at:

eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaros125.html
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See the Total Eclipse of the Moon on Dec. 21, 2010 ​

Visit the special Web page Total Eclipse of the Moon on Dec. 21, 2010 for complete details about this event.

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[Pathfinder]

Total Lunar Eclipse December 21 - Tonight the moon will turn red

Early Christmas treat: 2010's total lunar eclipse

(AP) ? 7 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? 'Twill be nights before Christmas and high overhead, the moon will turn orange or maybe bright red. The Earth and the sun with celestial scripts will conspire to make a lunar eclipse.

Weather permitting, sky gazers in North and Central America and a tiny sliver of South America will boast the best seats to this year's only total eclipse of the moon.

The eclipse will happen Monday night on the West Coast and during the wee hours Tuesday on the East Coast. Western Europe will only see the start of the spectacle while western Asia will catch the tail end.

The moon is normally illuminated by the sun. During a total lunar eclipse, the full moon passes through the shadow created by the Earth blocking the sun's light. Some indirect sunlight will still manage to pierce through and give the moon a ghostly color.

Since the eclipse coincides with winter solstice, the moon will appear high in the sky ? a boon for skywatchers. While there have been recent volcanic eruptions, scientists on Monday said there's not enough dust in the atmosphere to dim the eclipse.

NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland predicts the moon will appear bright red or orange.

"It will be interesting to watch," he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...WmO1tA?docId=de91fd279621448fb383d21ac1d0f7e3

 

[Emily]

Re: Total Lunar Eclipse December 21 - Tonight the moon will turn red

There's a pool of photos in this NASAJPL group here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/imthere/pool/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Total Lunar Eclipse December 21 - Tonight the moon will turn red

Winter solstice lunar eclipse in New Orleans

Published: Tuesday, December 21, 2010, 8:20 AM Updated: Tuesday, December 21, 2010, 8:29 AM
By Matthew Hinton, The Times-Picayune


A total eclipse of the moon is seen on the date of the winter solstice by the center spire of the St. Louis Cathedral beginning at just after midnight before becoming totally eclipsed around 2 am in New Orleans, Louisiana Tuesday December 21, 2010...

[...]
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/winter_solstice_lunar_eclipse.html

http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/201...clipse_1.html?fromentry=5438185&fromblog=2986