Total Lunar Eclipse December 10th, 2011

AlohaChris · #1 by **AlohaChris** » Dec 04, 2011 1:57 pm

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Dec. 2, 2011: Waking up before sunrise can be tough to do, especially on a weekend. On Saturday, Dec. 10th, you might be glad you did. A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible in the early morning skies of western Northern America.
The action begins around 4:45 am Pacific Standard Time when the red shadow of Earth first falls across the lunar disk. By 6:05 am Pacific Time, the Moon will be fully engulfed in red light. This event—the last total lunar eclipse until 2014—is visible from the Pacific side of North America, across the entire Pacific Ocean to Asia and Eastern Europe.

Global Visibility Map

For people in the western United States ( ) the eclipse is deepest just before local dawn. Face west to see the red Moon sinking into the horizon as the sun rises behind your back. It’s a rare way to begin the day.
Not only will the Moon be beautifully red, it will also be inflated by the Moon illusion. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. In fact, a low Moon is no wider than any other Moon (cameras prove it) but the human brain insists otherwise. To observers in the western USA, therefore, the eclipse will appear super-sized. ( )

(

mine.)

AlohaChris · #2 by **AlohaChris** » Dec 10, 2011 3:33 am

Tonight/Tomorrow!

Onyx8 · #3 by **Onyx8** » Dec 10, 2011 4:22 am

Not gonna miss it, thanks for the reminder. Clouds are supposed to move in tonight however. :waah:

Spearthrower · #4 by **Spearthrower** » Dec 10, 2011 5:11 pm

By chance, it was the clearest night I have ever seen in Bangkok! I saw at least 30 to 40 stars tonight! Not only was it a pleasure to watch because of the atmospheric clarity, but that's also produced some almost cold weather here... so I could watch it out on the balcony without needing a shower afterwards!

Onyx8 · #5 by **Onyx8** » Dec 10, 2011 5:36 pm

My son and I got to see it after all!!

There were some thin high clouds but it didn't impede the view. Very cool.

klazmon · #6 by **klazmon** » Dec 11, 2011 11:51 am

I saw it up to full but it then clouded over with the occasional glimpse through breaks in the cloud. I thought it would be a complete non event for me as it had been completely overcast until about an hour before it started. We have a transit of Venus next year for which I'm hoping for a clear day.

Visibility for the June 2012 transit, clouds permitting:

AlohaChris · #7 by **AlohaChris** » Dec 11, 2011 2:19 pm

It was spectacular! I woke my kids early to watch and they were quite amazed. We had perfect viewing conditions, except for the cold weather. Awesome red color in the umbra.

Image from Astronomy Picture of the Day, NASA.

Onyx8 · #8 by **Onyx8** » Dec 12, 2011 1:00 am

Gorgeous photo AC.

AlohaChris · #9 by **AlohaChris** » Dec 12, 2011 3:39 am

Onyx8 wrote:Gorgeous photo AC.

Thanks, I think it was taken in Iran.

I read another article today that kind of blew my mind with this question: If, during a full lunar eclipse, the sun earth & moon are aligned on a 180 degree straight line, how was it possible to se both the rising sun and the fully eclipsed moon at the same time?
shouldn't it be impossible?

The answer was atmospheric optics: The atmosphere acts a giant lens that refracts the light coming from the sun & moon, bending it around the earth. When we see a sun rise, the sun doesn't actually come over the horizon until 1-6 minutes after your able to see it! Wild.

Weaver · **#10** by **Weaver** » Dec 12, 2011 4:31 am

We were overcast, though it cleared up quite nicely later in the night.

Onyx8 · **#11** by **Onyx8** » Dec 12, 2011 6:09 am

AlohaChris wrote:
Onyx8 wrote:Gorgeous photo AC.

Thanks, I think it was taken in Iran.

I read another article today that kind of blew my mind with this question: If, during a full lunar eclipse, the sun earth & moon are aligned on a 180 degree straight line, how was it possible to se both the rising sun and the fully eclipsed moon at the same time?
shouldn't it be impossible?

The answer was atmospheric optics: The atmosphere acts a giant lens that refracts the light coming from the sun & moon, bending it around the earth. When we see a sun rise, the sun doesn't actually come over the horizon until 1-6 minutes after your able to see it! Wild.

Didn't think that looked like Hawaii, that's wehre you are isn't it?

Also the moon looks a lot lower in that picture than where I am on the west coast of Canada. Maybe because of the mountains.