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Wednesday night, skywatchers across Canada will be treated to an astronomical spectacle - a total eclipse of the moon. The long shadow of the Earth will sweep across the full moon and transform the normally bright lunar surface into an eerie red or rusty brown colour. "It will look like a Halloween pumpkin hanging up there, high in the sky," said Terence Dickinson, editor of SkyNews, a Canadian astronomy magazine. "Everyone who is interested in the phenomena of nature should go outside and have a look." Provided the weather is good and the skies are clear, it promises to be an awe-inspiring sight, Mr. Dickinson said. And there won't be another one visible from Canada for nearly three years - Dec. 20, 2010. For a lunar eclipse to occur, the Earth must be precisely aligned between the sun and the moon in order to block the solar rays from striking the lunar surface. The celestial event has several distinct phases. The show gets under way at 8:43 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (or 5:43 Pacific Standard Time), when the moon passes into the Earth's dark inner shadow known as the umbra. At first, it will look as if someone has taken a bite out of the left side of the moon. Earth's shadow will continue to creep across the lunar surface, with the "bite" becoming increasingly bigger. By 10:01 p.m. EST, the entire moon will be gobbled up by the shadow so that no direct light from the sun can reach its surface. But the moon still won't go completely dark. That's because the Earth's atmosphere acts like a prism and bends some of the sun's light into the shadow. If astronauts were standing on the moon, they would witness the Earth covering up the sun. The Earth would look like a black disc surrounded by a thin rim of red light. This rim is the planet's glowing atmosphere at the boundary between day and night - where sunrises and sunsets happen. And it is this reddish light that is "bent" into the Earth's shadow, giving the moon its unusual colour during the eclipse. The colour of the moon can vary dramatically, depending on the amount of dust and cloud in the Earth's atmosphere. (Particles in the air tend to absorb the blue light, while letting through the red end of the spectrum.) It can range from shades of red to coppery brown. "It's impossible to predict the colour," Mr. Dickinson said. "Every eclipse is slightly different." At 10:51 p.m. EST, the moon will begin to emerge from the shadow. A thin sliver of light will first be visible on the left side of the moon. It will gradually swell until it covers the entire lunar surface. At that point - 12:09 a.m. EST - the cosmic display will draw to a close and Earth's natural satellite will be restored to its normal appearance. Mr. Dickinson said it's unusual for a total eclipse to be visible from coast to coast. "We live in a big country with a lot of different time zones," he said. Normally, only one area of the country is favoured and skywatchers in other regions can see only a minor part of the event. Tomorrow night, however, the entire country will be graced with front-row seats. On the East Coast, the moon will be relatively high in the sky as the eclipse commences. On the West Coast, the moon will be just rising above the horizon at the beginning of the show. Despite the different positions of the moon in the sky, everyone across Canada should be able to see the eclipse, so long as it isn't cloudy. Unlike a solar eclipse, you don't need protective eyewear or special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse - although a pair of binoculars can enhance the viewing, Mr. Dickinson said. And you can observe the spectacle in a leisurely fashion because it unfolds over the course of several hours. "You don't have to stand outside from start to finish ... this is the middle of February," Mr. Dickinson said. "I am a rabid enthusiast about these things and even I won't be out there the entire time." Instead, he suggests popping outdoors occasionally to witness brief portions of the various stages of the eclipse. An added bonus of this eclipse will be the apparent proximity of the moon to one of the major planets. The moon will be flanked by what will look like two bright stars. The one on the left side of the moon is actually the ringed planet Saturn. The star on the upper right is Regulus - a sun in the constellation of Leo. As the night progresses, the moon will seem to draw closer to Saturn. Of course, it's just an optical illusion and the heavenly bodies are actually separated by vast distances of space. Skywatchers are now eagerly awaiting this week's eclipse. Some local astronomy clubs will be holding special outdoor "star parties" to observe the cosmic display. But an eclipse can be more than a natural wonder in the sky. In the distant past, eclipses helped shape human understanding of the universe. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle realized the world was round when he saw the Earth's curved shadow on the surface of the moon. His brilliant observation, however, was largely forgotten or ignored for centuries. ***** A shadow over the moon Tomorrow's total eclipse of the moon will be visible across the country, starting at 8:43 p.m. EST. In the East, the spectacle will take place relatively high in the sky while, in the West, the moon will be low on the horizon as it begins to move into Earth's shadow. WHERE IT'S VISIBLE Most of North America, all of South America, plus Western Europe and West Africa will be able to see the lunar eclipse in its entirety. HOW IT HAPPENS A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes entirely through the Earth's shadow. UMBRA Direct sunlight is completely blocked within Earth's inner shadow. ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION A thin sliver of sunlight, filtered and bent by the Earth's atmosphere, gives the moon a reddish glow. HOW IT WILL UNFOLD Tomorrow's will be the last eclipse visible from Canada for almost three years. THE LATE SHOW The lunar eclipse will last about three hours and 26 minutes. The moon will be completely immersed within the Earth's dark umbral shadow for just under 50 minutes. SOURCES: NASA, SPACE.COM, SKY & TELESCOPE, TERENCE DICKINSON --Boundary_(ID_1cTpuYs1sfivDZMeDh+Y9Q) Content-type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Goodnight, moon -- Wednesday night, the Earth's shadow will plunge the moon into darkness. From here, it will be a lovely sight -- Globe and Mail, Tues., Fe b. 19, 2008</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <BR> <BR> <B>Subject: </B>Goodnight, moon -- Wednesday night, the Earth's shadow will plunge the moon into darkness. From here, it will be a lovely sight -- Globe and Mail, Tues., Feb. 19, 2008<BR> <BR> Globe and Mail, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008<BR> <BR> [This article was on line, but check out Tuesday's Globe and Mail newspaper, page 3 of first section, for the lovely colour illustrations that accompanied it. JW]<BR> <BR> <FONT FACE="Trebuchet MS"><H1>Goodnight, moon<BR> </H1><FONT COLOR="#686868"><FONT SIZE="6">Wednesday night, the Earth's shadow will plunge the moon into darkness. From here, it will be a lovely sight<BR> <BR> </FONT></FONT></FONT><B>PAUL TAYLOR<BR> </B><BR> From Tuesday's Globe and Mail<BR> <UL><LI>E-mail Paul Taylor | <FONT COLOR="#0E215B">Read Bio</FONT><FONT SIZE="4"> </FONT>| <FONT COLOR="#0E215B">Latest Columns<BR> </FONT></UL>February 19, 2008 at 5:35 AM EST<BR> <BR> Wednesday night, skywatchers across Canada will be treated to an astronomical spectacle - a total eclipse of the moon.<BR> <BR> The long shadow of the Earth will sweep across the full moon and transform the normally bright lunar surface into an eerie red or rusty brown colour.<BR> <BR> "It will look like a Halloween pumpkin hanging up there, high in the sky," said Terence Dickinson, editor of SkyNews, a Canadian astronomy magazine.<BR> <BR> "Everyone who is interested in the phenomena of nature should go outside and have a look."<BR> <BR> Provided the weather is good and the skies are clear, it promises to be an awe-inspiring sight, Mr. Dickinson said.<BR> <BR> And there won't be another one visible from Canada for nearly three years - Dec. 20, 2010.<BR> <BR> For a lunar eclipse to occur, the Earth must be precisely aligned between the sun and the moon in order to block the solar rays from striking the lunar surface.<BR> <BR> The celestial event has several distinct phases.<BR> <BR> The show gets under way at 8:43 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (or 5:43 Pacific Standard Time), when the moon passes into the Earth's dark inner shadow known as the umbra.<BR> <BR> At first, it will look as if someone has taken a bite out of the left side of the moon. Earth's shadow will continue to creep across the lunar surface, with the "bite" becoming increasingly bigger.<BR> <BR> By 10:01 p.m. EST, the entire moon will be gobbled up by the shadow so that no direct light from the sun can reach its surface.<BR> <BR> But the moon still won't go completely dark.<BR> <BR> That's because the Earth's atmosphere acts like a prism and bends some of the sun's light into the shadow.<BR> <BR> If astronauts were standing on the moon, they would witness the Earth covering up the sun.<BR> <BR> The Earth would look like a black disc surrounded by a thin rim of red light. This rim is the planet's glowing atmosphere at the boundary between day and night - where sunrises and sunsets happen.<BR> <BR> And it is this reddish light that is "bent" into the Earth's shadow, giving the moon its unusual colour during the eclipse.<BR> <BR> The colour of the moon can vary dramatically, depending on the amount of dust and cloud in the Earth's atmosphere.<BR> <BR> (Particles in the air tend to absorb the blue light, while letting through the red end of the spectrum.)<BR> <BR> It can range from shades of red to coppery brown.<BR> <BR> "It's impossible to predict the colour," Mr. Dickinson said.<BR> <BR> "Every eclipse is slightly different."<BR> <BR> At 10:51 p.m. EST, the moon will begin to emerge from the shadow.<BR> <BR> A thin sliver of light will first be visible on the left side of the moon.<BR> <BR> It will gradually swell until it covers the entire lunar surface.<BR> <BR> At that point - 12:09 a.m. EST - the cosmic display will draw to a close and Earth's natural satellite will be restored to its normal appearance.<BR> <BR> Mr. Dickinson said it's unusual for a total eclipse to be visible from coast to coast.<BR> <BR> "We live in a big country with a lot of different time zones," he said.<BR> <BR> Normally, only one area of the country is favoured and skywatchers in other regions can see only a minor part of the event.<BR> <BR> Tomorrow night, however, the entire country will be graced with front-row seats.<BR> <BR> On the East Coast, the moon will be relatively high in the sky as the eclipse commences.<BR> <BR> On the West Coast, the moon will be just rising above the horizon at the beginning of the show.<BR> <BR> Despite the different positions of the moon in the sky, everyone across Canada should be able to see the eclipse, so long as it isn't cloudy.<BR> <BR> Unlike a solar eclipse, you don't need protective eyewear or special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse - although a pair of binoculars can enhance the viewing, Mr. Dickinson said.<BR> <BR> And you can observe the spectacle in a leisurely fashion because it unfolds over the course of several hours.<BR> <BR> "You don't have to stand outside from start to finish ... this is the middle of February," Mr. Dickinson said.<BR> <BR> "I am a rabid enthusiast about these things and even I won't be out there the entire time."<BR> <BR> Instead, he suggests popping outdoors occasionally to witness brief portions of the various stages of the eclipse.<BR> <BR> An added bonus of this eclipse will be the apparent proximity of the moon to one of the major planets.<BR> <BR> The moon will be flanked by what will look like two bright stars.<BR> <BR> The one on the left side of the moon is actually the ringed planet Saturn.<BR> <BR> The star on the upper right is Regulus - a sun in the constellation of Leo.<BR> <BR> As the night progresses, the moon will seem to draw closer to Saturn.<BR> <BR> Of course, it's just an optical illusion and the heavenly bodies are actually separated by vast distances of space.<BR> <BR> Skywatchers are now eagerly awaiting this week's eclipse.<BR> <BR> Some local astronomy clubs will be holding special outdoor "star parties" to observe the cosmic display.<BR> <BR> But an eclipse can be more than a natural wonder in the sky.<BR> <BR> In the distant past, eclipses helped shape human understanding of the universe.<BR> <BR> The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle realized the world was round when he saw the Earth's curved shadow on the surface of the moon.<BR> <BR> His brilliant observation, however, was largely forgotten or ignored for centuries.<BR> <BR> *****<BR> <BR> <B>A shadow over the moon<BR> </B><BR> Tomorrow's total eclipse of the moon will be visible across the country, starting at 8:43 p.m. EST.<BR> <BR> In the East, the spectacle will take place relatively high in the sky while, in the West, the moon will be low on the horizon as it begins to move into Earth's shadow.<BR> <BR> WHERE IT'S VISIBLE<BR> <BR> Most of North America, all of South America, plus Western Europe and West Africa will be able to see the lunar eclipse in its entirety.<BR> <BR> HOW IT HAPPENS<BR> <BR> A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes entirely through the Earth's shadow.<BR> <BR> UMBRA<BR> <BR> Direct sunlight is completely blocked within Earth's inner shadow.<BR> <BR> ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION<BR> <BR> A thin sliver of sunlight, filtered and bent by the Earth's atmosphere, gives the moon a reddish glow.<BR> <BR> HOW IT WILL UNFOLD<BR> <BR> Tomorrow's will be the last eclipse visible from Canada for almost three years.<BR> <BR> THE LATE SHOW<BR> <BR> The lunar eclipse will last about three hours and 26 minutes.<BR> <BR> The moon will be completely immersed within the Earth's dark umbral shadow for just under 50 minutes.<BR> <BR> SOURCES: NASA, SPACE.COM, SKY & TELESCOPE, TERENCE DICKINSON<BR> <BR> </BODY> </HTML> --Boundary_(ID_1cTpuYs1sfivDZMeDh+Y9Q)--
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