Lunar eclipse visible Thursday night

The eclipse up close

- Elk Creek Observatory, Holton High School

- Four large telescopes available for viewing eclipse and other night sky objects

- Open 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Moon will be completely submerged in Earth's shadow; totality will last 52 minutes

By Mike Ford

Special to The Capital-Journal

The first total lunar eclipse of the century will be visible Thursday night throughout the United States.

Beginning at 9:05 p.m., the full moon will begin to enter the darker, inner part of the Earth's shadow called the umbra. It will start the first lunar eclipse since 1999.

The Earth's shadow will appear as a curve. The curved shadow provided proof to Aristotle that the world was round --- thousands of years before Columbus and Magellan circumnavigated the Earth. Aristotle is credited with the discovery of the shape of the Earth by his observations of several lunar eclipses.

The moon will be completely submerged in the Earth's shadow, which is called totality, beginning at 10:14 p.m. During this stage of the eclipse, stars surrounding the moon should be visible through binoculars or a small telescope. In fact, some stars may be covered by the moon, which is called an occultation. Occultations are fairly common and assist astronomers in determining the precise orbit of the moon.

Also, the moon may appear dark, or as an orange in the sky. It may even appear red in color, depending on the aerosols in the atmosphere. Lately, there haven't been any major volcanic eruptions, which cause aerosols to be suspended in the atmosphere.

These aerosols bend the incoming light of the moon and cause the color changes during totality. If the moon goes through the central part of the shadow, it could be completely dark and very difficult to see.

Totality will last for 52 minutes. At 11:06 p.m., the moon will begin to move out of the umbra and the sky will again become bright. The eclipse will be over at 12:17 a.m. Friday.

Mike Ford is an astronomy teacher at Holton High School.

He can be reached by e-mail at mford@holtonks.net.

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