Live shot of Lunar ecipse

(Courtesy Stuart Robbins)

The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, in partnership with the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, will host a viewing party of the total lunar eclipse on Monday, Dec. 20, starting at 10 p.m.

Fiske Planetarium will offer a free talk about the moon by education programs manager Matt Benjamin beginning at 10:30 p.m. in the planetarium’s theater. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Following the talk, attendees are invited to walk up the hill to nearby Sommers-Bausch Observatory to view the eclipse in its entirety, weather permitting. Telescopes will be available for public observation and attendees are encouraged to dress appropriately for outdoor star viewing.

The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, in partnership with the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, will host a viewing party of the total lunar eclipse on Monday, Dec. 20, starting at 10 p.m.

Fiske Planetarium will offer a free talk about the moon by education programs manager Matt Benjamin beginning at 10:30 p.m. in the planetarium’s theater. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Following the talk, attendees are invited to walk up the hill to nearby Sommers-Bausch Observatory to view the eclipse in its entirety, weather permitting. Telescopes will be available for public observation and attendees are encouraged to dress appropriately for outdoor star viewing.

The eclipse viewing begins about 11:30 p.m. and will continue through 2 a.m. on Dec. 21. Staff from the planetarium, the observatory and related academic programs will be on hand to discuss the eclipse and answer questions. Cameras and lawn chairs are welcome.

This year’s event is a rare moment of celestial timing and alignment; in North America, the next lunar eclipse coinciding with the winter solstice will not occur until 2094.

For more information call Fiske Planetarium at 303-492-5002.

Contact

Matthew Benjamin, 303-492-4073
matthew.benjamin@colorado.edu
Erin Frazier, University Communications, 303-492-8384
erin.frazier@colorado.edu

source popsci

For the first time since 1638, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from North America on the longest night of the year. That night just happens to be tonight, starting at 11:32 AM, so all you moon-oglers will have to stay up awfully late (or wake up perversely early) to catch it.

The eclipse, in which the Earth’s shadow completely blocks out the moon, will last for a particularly long time tonight–it will start at 11:32 PM (Boulder Time), with the total eclipse beginning at 12:41 AM. (West coasters can do the time zone math themselves, and watch the eclipse in shorts with their movie star neighbors on the beach, or whatever they do out there.)

The total eclipse will last for a whopping 72 minutes, until 1:53 AM, during which the moon will appear to change colors, most noticeably to bright orange-red. But do not be alarmed! The moon is not on fire, functioning as some kind of pagan punishment to celebrate the winter solstice. It’ll be changing colors due to the light filtering through Earth’s atmosphere and reflecting on the moon’s dull surface.

For their part, NASA will be hosting a live chat with Marshall Center astronomer Rob Suggs and researcher Mitzi Adams, and will also host a live feed, in case you live in a dungeon or something and can’t see the moon (in which case, you should really look into moving once your dungeon’s lease is up).

source sure start.

Viewers in Boulder will see the eclipse begin around 12:32 am EST. Totality will occur from 12:41 am to 1:53 am EST. During this phase the moon will show as a rusty orange-red color.

This event will mark the start of winter solstice 2010. The shortest day of the year has fallen previously on December 21 but never with the lunar eclipse. It has been centuries since the two events coincided.

The next time this will occur will be in 84 years. While not as long as this last wait, it will still be far beyond the lifetime of most who will witness it tonight.

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Christmas telescopes might end up being unwrapped a bit early, though, in anticipation of a more detailed view of the lunar surface. Light rays bending around and through the edges of the earth’s atmosphere are expected to bathe the moon in sunset like colors, ranging from yellows to oranges and even dark brick reds.

On the west coast of the US, the total eclipse will begin on December 20, at 11:41 pm (PT).

This lunar eclipse coincides with the winter solstice, which means the moon will appear high overhead, making it easy to watch if the weather is good. Astronomers say that, due to recent volcanic eruptions that have dumped tons of ash and dust into the atmosphere, this may be a much darker lunar eclipse than usual.

The total eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, North America, Central America and western portions of South America. Western Europe will see the early stages of the eclipse before the moon sets, and parts of Asia will get to see a partial eclipse when the moon rises.