One more on the lunar eclipse from feb 20th

A time lapse of the total lunar eclipse on February 20th, 2008. Recorded with still images. A nice one :)

The Lunar Eclipse

Well the eclipse was between 4 and 5 am in my area so don't blame me for staying in bed at that time :p Anyway it was cloudy so i guess not too much to see.

Picture below is from Spain. A nice classical reddish color of the moon while eclipsed.that And below that from TN TV (Argentina)

Jue 21, 07:12
Esta madrugada se vivió el último eclipse total de luna de la década

Total Lunar Eclipse

Above: A preview of the Feb. 20th lunar eclipse created by graphic artist Larry Koehn. Click on the links to view labels for other time zones: GMT, AST, EST, CST, MST, PST, Alaska, Hawaii.

On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red and possibly turquoise, too. It's a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010.

The Sun goes down. The Moon comes up. You go out and look at the sky. Observing the eclipse is that easy. Maximum eclipse, and maximum beauty, occurs at 10:26 pm EST (7:26 pm PST).

A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through the shadow of Earth. You might expect the Moon to grow even more ashen than usual, but in fact it transforms into an orb of vivid red.

Why red? That is the color of Earth's shadow.

Consider the following: Most shadows we're familiar with are black or gray; step outside on a sunny day and look at your own. Earth's shadow is different because, unlike you, Earth has an atmosphere. The delicate layer of dusty air surrounding our planet reddens and redirects the light of the sun, filling the dark behind Earth with a sunset-red glow. The exact tint--anything from bright orange to blood red is possible--depends on the unpredictable state of the atmosphere at the time of the eclipse. "Only the shadow knows," says astronomer Jack Horkheimer of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

Transiting the shadow's core takes about an hour. The first hints of red appear around 10 pm EST (7 pm PST), heralding a profusion of coppery hues that roll across the Moon's surface enveloping every crater, mountain and moon rock, only to fade away again after 11 pm EST (8 pm PST). No special filter or telescope is required to see this spectacular event. It is a bright and leisurely display visible from cities and countryside alike.

While you're watching, be alert for another color: turquoise. Observers of several recent lunar eclipses have reported a flash of turquoise bracketing the red of totality.

Below: A turquoise eclipse:




"The blue and turquoise shades at the edge of Earth's shadow were incredible," recalls amateur astronomer Eva Seidenfaden of Trier, Germany, who took the picture at right during the European lunar eclipse of March 3-4, 2007. Dozens of other photographers have documented the same phenomenon.

The source of the turquoise is ozone. Eclipse researcher Dr. Richard Keen of the University of Colorado explains: "During a lunar eclipse, most of the light illuminating the moon passes through the stratosphere where it is reddened by scattering. However, light passing through the upper stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer, which absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer." This can be seen, he says, as a soft blue fringe around the red core of Earth's shadow.

To catch the turquoise on Feb. 20th, he advises, "look during the first and last minutes of totality." That would be around 10:01 pm EST and 10:51 pm EST (7:01 and 7:51 pm PST).

Blood red, bright orange, gentle turquoise: it's all good. Mark your calendar in vivid color for the Feb. 20th lunar eclipse.

Total Lunar Eclipse Aug. 28

The Aug. 28, 2007 total lunar eclipse: Who will see what.

On Aug. 28, skywatchers across much of North America can watch as the Moon crosses into the Earth's shadow and will undergo its second total eclipse in 2007.

West Coast viewers will get the best show.

Lunar eclipses occur when Earth gets between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow. The view is different from each location on the planet. Along the West Coast of Canada and the United States and in Alaska, the entire eclipse will be visible from start to finish before moonset in the early morning hours of that Tuesday. Hawaiians will see totality – when the moon is completely in Earth's shadow – high in their sky around midnight.

In eastern Asia and Australia, the event will occur on the same date but in the evening, since for this part of the world it will coincide with moonrise.

What will happen

The Moon will track across the southern portion of the Earth's shadow, and will be completely immersed for one-hour and 30 minutes, making this a much-longer than normal totality.

Because some of the sunlight that strikes our Earth is diffused and scattered by our atmosphere, its shadow is not completely dark; enough of this light reaches the Moon to give it an eerie coppery glow even when it's totally eclipsed. It is anticipated that during the upcoming total eclipse the Moon will glow brightest across its lower portion, while its upper part (closest to the center of the shadow) will appear a deep shade of brown or gray.

For easterners, the eclipse will begin around dawn and will still be in progress when the Sun rises and the Moon sets, two events that happen almost simultaneously on a lunar eclipse night.

For the Canadian Maritime Provinces the Moon sets before total eclipse begins; be on the watch for a thinning sliver of the Moon's edge going down just above the western horizon. Across the eastern United States and the Great Lakes States, the Moon sets during totality. In this region, depending on where you are located and just how clear your western sky is on eclipse morning, you might lose sight of the eclipsed Moon completely before it sets, since the twilight sky will still be quite bright and the full Moon will be shining 1/10,000 as bright as it normally would; otherwise, you'll be hunting for a dim ball.

Across the Nation's midsection, the Plains and Rocky Mountain States totality has already ended before moonset and the eclipse is partial as the moon emerges from the Earth's shadow.

The next total lunar eclipse is scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2008 and will widely visible from North and South America, as well as Europe, Africa and eastern Asia.

So much for the lunar eclipse

Bad luck in our neck of the woods. Clouds! From beginning of the eclipse until the end. But else in the world there was more to see. For example this one from Geneva, Switzerland. More of these pictures you find here.

Eclipse set to be 'best in years'

Article about the upcoming lunar eclipse from BBC News:

Eclipse set to be 'best in years'

It is like Mars suddenly coming a thousand times closer and just hanging there in the sky above you Robert Massey, Royal Astronomical Society

Skywatchers eagerly awaiting Saturday's total lunar eclipse say that the spectacle could be the "best in years".

The eclipse begins at 2018 GMT, with the Moon totally immersed in the shadow of the Earth between 2244 and 2358 GMT.

During "totality", only light that has been filtered through the Earth's atmosphere reaches the Moon's surface, making it appear a reddish colour.

The eclipse will be visible from the whole of Europe, Africa, South America, and eastern parts of the US and Canada.

"They are beautiful events," said Robert Massey, spokesman for the UK's Royal Astronomical Society.

"They have a really romantic feel to them as you look up because the Moon, which is normally pearly white, takes on this reddish colour."

He added that it was totally safe to observe and no protective filters were needed because the Moon would actually be less bright than during a normal full moon.

See where the eclipse will be visible

Mr Massey encouraged everyone to witness the "spectacular" event.

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE Occurs when Moon passes into Earth's shadow Penumbra: Region where Earth blocks some (but not all) Sun rays Umbra: Zone where Earth blocks all direct sunlight - total eclipse

"It is like Mars suddenly coming a thousand times closer and just hanging there in the sky above you."

Lunar eclipses occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in a near-perfect line in space.

The Moon travels through the long cone-shaped shadow that the Earth casts in space. At totality, the only light reaching the Moon's surface at this point has been filtered through our planet's atmosphere.

The appearance of the lunar surface varies according to how much dust is in the Earth's upper atmosphere. For example, following major volcanic eruptions, the Moon appears to be a deep red and almost invisible.

As there have not been any recent sizeable eruptions, astronomers are predicting that the Moon will be bathed in a bright orange light.

'Best in years'

Professional astronomers will also be enjoying the spectacle rather than worrying about any science, Mr Massey says.

KEY TIMES FOR ECLIPSE Moon enters penumbra: 2018 Moon enters umbra: 2130 Totality begins: 2244 Mid-eclipse: 2321 Totality ends: 2358 Moon leave umbra: 0111 Moon leaves penumbra: 0224 (All times are in GMT)

"It is not like a solar eclipse where you get to see the outer atmosphere of the sun," explained Mr Massey.

"There were some people in the past who measured how different parts of the Moon cooled down as the Earth's shadow passed over it, but I don't much of that work is going on now."

Robin Scagell, from the Society for Popular Astronomy, was hopeful that the event will be the "best in years".

"If the clouds stay away, it will be fascinating to watch the Moon's graceful movement through the shadow of the Earth," he said.

The last total eclipse visible from the UK was back in May 2004, but it was obscured by cloudy skies.

After Saturday's eclipse, the next to be seen over western Europe will take place on 21 February 2008, but in the middle of the night between 0300 GMT and 0400 GMT.