Earth to put the moon in the shade

[Richard]

Chee Chee Leung
August 27, 2007

AS A sky show, it has kept Australian star-gazers waiting for seven years.

A spectacular total lunar eclipse will be visible across the country tomorrow at full moon, when the sun, Earth and moon are in perfect alignment.

The Earth casts a shadow across the moon and blocks out the sunlight, causing the moon to become dark, almost disappearing.

Although it is a total eclipse, the moon will not completely black out. Some sunlight will reach it, bent by the Earth's atmosphere.

If the atmosphere is dusty, the moon could appear blood-red, as the dust particles filter out some of the green, blue and violet rays in sunlight. Melbourne Planetarium astronomer Tanya Hill said the eclipse was "a lovely thing" to watch. "It's like a big bite being take out of the moon," she said.

The partial phase of the eclipse begins just before 7pm. During this time, the Earth's shadow is curved, one of the ancients' first clues the planet was spherical. The total lunar eclipse will be from 7.52pm to 9.22pm.

After this, the moon will slowly emerge from Earth's shadow.

The Astronomical Society of Victoria said it would be the best lunar eclipse in years, and encouraged adults and children to take advantage of the convenient time.

"This is a great chance for them to see the workings of the solar system for themselves," said vice-president Perry Vlahos.

He said the eclipse would also allow people to spot brilliant stars and gas clouds that would otherwise be drowned out by moonlight.

The eclipse can be seen with the naked eye, but binoculars or a telescope would be better. The last total lunar eclipse was in July 2000. The next one visible in Victoria will be in 2011.

â– The Astronomical Society of Victoria is inviting the public to view the eclipse at the Victoria Gardens Shopping Centre in Richmond. About 20 telescopes will be set up on the top deck of the IKEA car park, with the public asked for a gold-coin donation to look through the telescopes.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/e...46407.html

Total lunar eclipse early Tuesday

By COLLEEN SLEVIN, Associated Press

The Earth's shadow will creep across the moon's surface early Tuesday, slowly eclipsing it and turning it to shades of orange and red.

The total lunar eclipse, the second this year, will be visible in North and South America, especially in the West. People in the Pacific islands, eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand also will be able to view it if skies are clear.

People in Europe, Africa or the Middle East, who had the best view of the last total lunar eclipse in March, won't see this one because the moon will have set when the partial eclipse begins at 4:51 a.m. EDT. The full eclipse will begin an hour later at 5:52 a.m. EDT.

An eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's light. It's rare because the moon is usually either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit.

Since the Earth is bigger than the moon, the process of the Earth's shadow taking a bigger and bigger "bite" out of the moon, totally eclipsing it before the shadow recedes, lasts about 3 1/2 hours, said Doug Duncan, director of the University of Colorado's Fiske Planetarium. The total eclipse phase, in which the moon has an orange or reddish glow, lasts about 1 1/2 hours.

The full eclipse will be visible across the United States, but East Coast viewers will only have about a half-hour to see it before the sun begins to rise and the moon sets. Skywatchers in the West will get the full show.

In eastern Asia, the moon will rise in various stages of eclipse.

During the full eclipse, the moon won't be completely dark because some light still reaches it around the edges of the Earth. The light is refracted as it passes through our atmosphere, scattering blue light — which is why the sky is blue — but sending reddish light onto the moon.

"When someone asks why is it (the moon) red, you can say because the sky is blue," Duncan said.

The next total lunar eclipse occurs Feb. 21, 2008, and will be visible from the Americas, Europe and Asia.
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On the Net:

NASA Lunar Eclipse Page:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LE...E2007Aug28

[Polly]

I am very curious about this full moon and lengthy eclipse as to what follows.  The two weeks after the full moon will tell.  I read somewhere that the dark forces' powers are diminished during eclipses.  I have no idea if this is true.

Space Weather News for Aug. 27, 2007
http://spaceweather.com

LUNAR ECLIPSE--FULL COVERAGE: On Tuesday, Aug. 28th, the full Moon will enter Earth's shadow for a 90-minute total eclipse. People on the Pacific side of Earth will have the best view as the Moon turns a dreamy shade of sunset red. Favored areas include the Americas (especially western North America), Hawaii, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, east Asia and Antarctica.  The show begins Tuesday morning around 2 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (0900 UT).

Although the dominant color of a lunar eclipse is red, sometimes another hue appears--turquoise.  Earth's shadow has a turquoise-colored fringe caused by our planet's ozone layer, and this can be seen for a few beautiful moments at the onset of totality. Today's edition of spaceweather.com shows you what the turquoise fringe looks like and explains how to catch it.

Also, amateur astronomers are encouraged to assist NASA during the eclipse by scanning the darkened Moon for explosions caused by Helion meteoroid impacts. Typical flashes reach 6th magnitude--easy targets for mid-sized backyard telescopes equipped with digital video cameras. The eclipse is a great time to look for these "lunar meteors." Observing tips and more information are available at http://spaceweather.com.

Full coverage of the eclipse, including maps, animations, timetables and links to live webcasts, begins now on http://spaceweather.com .
 

[Astrojewels]

I love lunar eclipse’s, the last time one was this great was 10 years ago, they are not unusual and happen once or twice per year, but the visual depends on where you are in the world, where the moon is, the seasons and so on.
Polly there are many rituals that are performed during the lunar eclipse because it is the energy of the sun and moon, so it is the energy of son/mother, particularly those with the mother of darkness programming can be triggered during this lunar phase.
The energy of the lunar eclipse usually lasts until the new moon, the twist this year is the new moon is on 11th of September, yes 911, this day we also have a solar eclipse, although small and only seen in Antarctica and South America.
Therefore there is some intense energy over the next two weeks; today’s eclipse is empowered by Pisces with the sun in Virgo, a very common partnership with lunar eclipses. Therefore we have two mutable signs controlling the earth’s collective force, both enforced with feminine energy, this time of the year is already sensitive and working its way up to the emotions of 911.
Key words of the signs – I analyze and I believe.
So men be patient, ladies be aware of the sensitive nature of this energy, it could feel like two weeks of PMT. Look beyond what the eyes tell you, analyze before believing. Watch for depression, emotions and insecurities. The way to overcome and empower it, keep close to mothers, daughters, sisters and girlfriends and try not to be snappy with the men folk!

[Polly]

Karen, from that perspective I would guess that a lot of victimization dynamics will be ignited.

[Sily]

...and try not to be snappy with the men folk!

Two weeks of me trying not to be snappy with the men folk... ?  Seems like an awful long time to me... but I'll try.   

icon_zidane  <- - - - *me* getting snappy.

[Sily]

Beautiful pictures of the eclipse here... as of 12:11pm on Tuesday, the ones from Hawaii are the best.  :D

[Polly]

Very nice link, Sily, and your comment about being snappy is funny. lol! :-)

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This full moon, on the emotional level, was very muted to me, almost like a non-event. That is not a prediction for the next two weeks of the waning moon as things occur and negative energies are pulled upward but the actual pre-full moon and full moon emotional impact was much less than I thought it would be.

[Mercy Now]

During the time of this lunar eclipse there were many issues that arose in my world that could have been upsetting. I remained calm and took them in stride.However the next few weeks ahead have an ominous feel to me beginning with 9/2. (Could be all that 9/11 residue.) I'm working on overcoming and translating   this "feeling" to something positive.

[Polly]

There is an enormous amount of interplanetary aspects at play currently which should have added fuel to the emotional full moon tide. Eek! Perhaps Saturn really is putting a damper on it all. And I still wonder about the eclipse defusing some of the energy but I have to wait on that score. The week before any new moon is very telling. Just thoughts and musings! No counting chickens before the eggs hatch! :-)

It is hard not to notice the huge push across the Internet lately concerned with getting people hooked and all riled up about some ominous impending disaster as we near the anniversary date in Sept. The same thing has gone on since 2002 as the month of Sept. drew near each year.

I have to keep reminding myself not to be drawn in.

[Astrojewels]

Applause to the ladies in the room!
I could do predictions- predictions construct mind patterns. I prefer to work with the energy alone, that way the individual can take it in and make the most out of it, it is a time for increased female energy and that will not all be positive because women can be very nasty, but glad to see that everyone here has used the energy with an optimistic approach.

The moon was glorious, we were out and driving home and got to see it rise, it was clear and so enormous. I watched it carefully and around 9pm it was a real sight, so I took my daughter half asleep out of bed (not a good thing I know) and wrapped her up and she thought it was a planet, we had talked of the eclipse but she just did not get it in theory, she just said “wow”. I read we had the best view in the world and it was good, actually great, I know this happens regularly but it is these events that make regular people look up, look up to what is outside the earth and start to think outside of their world, so for me it is always positive.