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A Total Lunar Eclipse in Prime-Time
- 1. Finallyagoodreasonto stayup onSundaynight:A total lunar eclipse. Lunar watchersthroughoutthe UnitedStatescanexperience someheavenlywonderasEarth’sshadow coversthe moonduringprime viewinghoursthe nightof May15. Those on the East Coastcan watch our natural satellite starttoturnan eerie copper-redcolorataround11:30 p.m.Easterntime duringone of the longestlunareclipsesinrecentmemory. “For prettymuchall of North America,thisisatremendousviewingopportunity,”saidMadhulika Guhathakurta,anastrophysicistatNASA’sGoddardSpaceflightCenterinGreenbelt,Md. Where and whencan I watch the lunar eclipse? The eclipse will be visible foralarge portionof the world,includingthose inthe Americas,muchof Europe and Africa,andparts of the Pacific.JosephRao,an associate astronomeratthe Hayden PlanetariuminNew York,estimatesthatsome 2.7 billionpeople shouldbe able tocatchat leastpart of the eclipse. Notlongafter sunset,the left-handside of the moonshouldstartappearingdusky.Butthe mainevent kicksoffabout 10:28 p.m.Easterntime,whenthe moonentersEarth’scentral shadow,knownasthe umbra.Atthat time,it will begintolooklikesomethinghastakenabite outof the moon. Whenthe moon isaboutthree-quartersof the wayintothe umbra,itshouldstartlightingupwitha reddishhue, “likeyourelectricrange justwhenthe coilsbegintoglow,”Mr. Rao said.
- 2. At11:29 p.m.,the moon will be inthe deepestportionof the Earth’sshadow and the total eclipse will begininearnest.The eclipsewillpeakshortlyaftermidnight,atroughly12:12 a.m.,and remainthat coppercoloruntil after 1 a.m.The moonwill leavethe umbraat1:56 a.m.,regainingitspearlescenthue as the work weekbegins. Viewersfartherwestwon’thave tostraintostayupquite aslate,withthe moststunningviewsof the redmoonbeginningabout8:29 p.m. Pacifictime,the peakoccurring justbefore 9:12 p.m.,andthe total eclipse endingby9:54 p.m. ObserversinHawaii will be able tosee the moonrise lookinglike areddish ball,Mr. Rao said,while those inEurope andAfricawill view the oppositeeffect,watchingthe moon dropbelowthe horizonduringthe total eclipse. The quirksof celestial mechanicsmeanthat totality — whenthe moonisbloodredandinthe deepest shadow — lastslongerthanaverage,roughly1hourand 25 minutes,givingskywatchersample opportunitytosavorthe event.Thismakesitthe longesttotal lunareclipse visible formuchof the UnitedStatessince August1989, Mr. Rao said. For people inNewYork,weatherforecastersputthe chance of rainat 30 percentforSundaynightand suggestedthatconditionscouldbe mostlycloudyaheadof the eclipse’stotality. If you’re cloudedoutbypoor weather,ornotinthe path of the eclipse,orNASA will be livestreaming the eventonitswebsite.Youcanalsowatchit inthe videoplayerembeddedabove.The Sloohonline telescope will be hostinganotherlivestreamaswell. What do I needto watch the eclipse? No fancyequipmentisneededtoviewthe otherworldlyspectacle.If the weatherisclear,justlookup and locate the moonat night.Darkerskiesare betterforcatchingthe subtletiesof the moon’scolor change,buteventhose incitieswill have fine viewsof the eclipse. “Because itis happeningatsucha comfortable time,Iwouldsuggesttryingtoobserve itfromthe beginningtothe end,”Dr. Guhathakurtasaid. Binocularsora backyardtelescopewill helpbringoutthe redcolor,she added.Viewerswithaccessto such instrumentsshouldbe able towatchEarth’sshadow passovercraters,valleysandmountainson the moon,and see suchfeaturestake onthatscarlethue. NASA’sGoddardcenterhostsmapsandvisualizationsof boththe moonduring the eclipse andwhere on Earth the eclipse willbe observable,soDr. Guhathakurtasuggestedthatthose interestedcanacquaint themselveswithdetailsof the eventbeforehandandlearnmore aboutlunartopography. How does a lunar eclipse work again? Lunar eclipsesoccurwhenourplanetcomesbetweenitstwomajorheavenlycompanions,the sunand moon.Moonglowisactuallyreflectedsunlightandsothe lunar surface graduallydarkensasthe moon fallsintoEarth’slongshadow. “Whenthe moon goesintothe shadowof the Earth, itshouldblackoutand disappear,”Mr.Rao said. “Instead,itchangesthiseerie copperorreddishcolor.”
- 3. That’sbecause the Earth’satmosphere islensingsunlightaroundthe edgesof ourplanet.Everything otherthan the longestand reddestwavelengthsare filteredoutandthe combinedglow of all the world’ssunrisesandsunsetsgetsprojectedonthe otherwise graymoon. If you were standingonthe moon,you’dsee the bigblackbacklitplate of the Earthcominginfrontof the sun,Mr. Rao said.Duringtotality,ourplanetwouldappearasa giantdark circle rimmedbya brilliant redring,and the lunarsurface aroundyouwouldturnvariousshadesof red,orange andbrown. NASA’sSurveyorIIIprobe capturedsucha marvel onfilmduringthe April 24, 1967 lunar eclipse,butthe resultingimagesare inblackandwhite andextremelylow resolution.Butwithmanynew missions headedtolunarorbitand the moon’ssurface inthe comingyears,perhapsone of Earth’srobotic explorerswillcapture suchascene incolor andhighresolution. Whenis the nextlunar eclipse? A secondtotal lunareclipse will occurlaterthisyearinthe earlymorningof Nov.8. Signupfor the Times Space and AstronomyCalendartogeta reminderonyourpersonal digitalcalendarof thisandother events. It will be visible inAsia,Australiaandthe PacificOcean,as well aspartsof Europe,NorthAmericaand much of SouthAmerica.Thateclipse will be forearlyrisersonthe EastCoast,who will have togetupat 4:09 a.m.to catch itsbeginning. https://webflow.com/boomidiadeal https://boomidiadeal.page.tl/ https://bit.ly/boomidiadeal https://dribbble.com/boomdiadeal/about https://trello.com/boomidiadeal1 https://www.scoop.it/u/boomidiadeal https://www.instapaper.com/read/1450212133 https://hearthis.at/boomidiadeal/ https://list.ly/boomidiadeal/ https://500px.com/p/milanatrace6560/ https://stackoverflow.com/users/17087419/boomidiadeal-shop https://www.patreon.com/boomidiadeal/ https://speakerdeck.com/boomidiadeal https://letterboxd.com/boomidiadeal/ https://hubpages.com/@boomidiadeal https://ask.fm/boomdiadeal