Lunar eclipse to take place tonight

Moon to enter Earth's shadow at 9:01 p.m.

Eclipse

throughout the United States tonight.

Beginning at 9:01 p.m., the full moon will begin to enter the darker, inner part of the Earth's shadow, called the umbra. Looking closely at the shape of the Earth's shadow, one can see it is noticeably curved. This is proof the Earth is round, as discovered by Aristotle thousands of years before Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas and Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated the Earth. In fact, Aristotle is credited with the discovery of the shape of the Earth by his observations of several lunar eclipses.

The moon will be completely engulfed in the Earth's shadow, which is called totality, beginning at 10:05 p.m. During this stage of the eclipse, viewers should be able to take a pair of binoculars or a small telescope and see stars surrounding the moon, which is called 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 even may appear red, 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 seen during totality. If the moon goes through the central part of the shadow, the moon could be completely dark and difficult to see.

Totality will last for one hour and 17 minutes. At 11:22 p.m., the moon will begin to move out of the umbra, and the sky once again will become bright. Finally, the eclipse will be finished at 12:25 a.m. Jan. 21.

Because this is a lunar eclipse, no eye protection will be needed. However, observers may want to bundle up in warm clothes and have something hot to drink for the three and one-half hours the eclipse will go from start to finish.

Mike Ford is an astronomy teacher at Holton High School.

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