Eclipse Article/My Observations

Total Eclipse will be Visible Tonight

In the words of 20th Century Jesuit priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: "Everything that rises must converge." In this case, it will be the moon rising to converge with the Earth’s shadow in a total lunar eclipse tonight, the first such celestial happening visible from the Western Hemisphere since October 2004.

"The sun is like a light bulb and the Earth is some distance away from it, and so the Earth casts a shadow in space all the time," explained David Cohen, Associate Professor of Astronomy at Swarthmore College. "When the moon passes through that shadow, it becomes very dark, and often a very nice dark shade of red."

This is because the sunlight blasting directly through Earth’s atmosphere is bent, scattering the blue spectrum while reds, oranges and browns get through. The exact color of the moon depends on the amount of atmospheric dust in the atmosphere, said another Associate Professor of Astronomy at Swat, Eric Jensen. Clouds might also add a dark-gray color to the mix, said Dr. Harry Augensen, professor of physics and astronomy and the Associate Dean of Science at Widener University.

Augensen said lunar eclipses occur only at full moon, when Luna is directly opposite the Sun, with Earth in between. The reason not every full moon produces an eclipse is due to the incline of the Earth relative to the moon. "On most occasions, the moon passes either above the Earth’s shadow or below the Earth’s shadow," he said. In this case, the perfect alignment for eclipse will begin at 5:44 p.m. EST, though the moon won’t begin to rise until 5:50 p.m. The sunset will come five minutes later, so there will still be a fair deal of twilight at the beginning of the show, said Augensen. But the moon will remain in umbra, the darkest part of the shadow, until 6:58 p.m., moving then into penumbra, or partial eclipse, until 8:12 p.m., when the eclipse ends."

Lunar eclipses, I think, are fun because it’s sort of a leisurely event," said Jensen. "One of the things I like about it is as you’re watching it come out of eclipse, you can see the edge of Earth’s shadow and see that it is rounded. "This is something even the ancient peoples of Earth understood some 2,500 years ago or more."

Through observation over decades and centuries, they were able to predict the cycles of eclipses, said Augensen, much as modern scientists today can tell you the next lunar eclipse will occur August 28. And, unlike a deep-space phenomenon, this one is still open to anyone who can look up. It requires no special equipment - just a clear view of the Eastern horizon and maybe a pair of binoculars.

"I have often compared it with a rainbow," said Augensen. "It’s something we have no control over and we can just enjoy it for what it is: a thing of beauty. A thing of natural beauty in the sky."

It is a thing of natural beauty and I am happy to say that at the last possible moment, the clouds ceased obscuring the moon just as totality was about to end. It was a gorgeous deep orange colour, just hanging a few degrees above the horizon.

It also underscored how much of an idiot I really am... I had my beautiful telescope out and was looking at the sky - well, trying to - but I could not... oh, honesty. I couldn't find the moon. You know, that big round thing in the night sky, easily the biggest thing in the night sky! I searched all over but I cannot operate the bloody thing! I suspect that it needs to be tightened quite a bit. It would also help if I read the directions, something I am rarely capable of doing... I can't focus enough to get through them. I know how to use it but I don't, if that makes any sense. I couldn't successfully get tonight's moon in the viewer. I saw the eclipse, but I could not get pictures, could not see it up close. I hate being me sometimes, and this is one of those times.

I was so miserable, so completely frustrated, I wanted to cry.

At least I did see it. It was amazing. The weather was clear and sunny until around 1500. It became totally cloudy then, and the ride home was one of recriminations to the sky for being so cloudy. Then around 1630, the sun burst through, and I thought that there might be hope. We went to Rockaway to get Luis' hair cut (he looks much better now) and when we came out, it seemed clear. But... no moon! That didn't make sense - that moon was delightfully visible in the late afternoon sky just a couple of days ago. But maybe it was in the shadow and at night it would be more visible.

Now... I wait for 28 August!