Schematic diagram of the shadow cast by the Earth. Within the central umbra shadow, the Moon is totally shielded from direct illumination by the Sun. In contrast, within the penumbra shadow, only a portion of sunlight is blocked. – Wikipedia
Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak’s web site.
The
Coconino Astronomical Society is encouraging the viewing of a somewhat rare astronomical event starting tonight and running into the early morning hours. Tonight there will be the first of four total eclipses of the moon in 2014. It is predicted to have a red appearance which has given rise to the term “blood moon.”
NASA is even promoting a live stream of the event if it is too chilly for you or if the cloud coverage in your area causes a problem.
Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak’s web site.
The rarity of this even is that four blood moons will occur in roughly six-month intervals on the following dates: April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015, and September 28, 2015. This is called a tetrad by astronomers. The
NY Daily News reports:
According to NASA, seeing four complete lunar eclipses in a row is very rare. The skies were tetrad-free from 1600 to 1900. But in the 21st century, there will be many.
What’s even stranger is that Americans have a front row seat.
“The most unique thing about the 2014-2015 tetrad is that all of them are visible for all or parts of the USA,” NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak told CNN.
According to the Society flier the eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye with no special equipment required. Binoculars might give a better view of the event.
An eclipse of the moon can only take place during the full moon phase when the moon passes through some portion of the shadow of the Earth. The shadow consists of two parts; the penumbra and umbra. It is when the moon passes through the umbra portion that the earth blocks all light from the sun. That is the type of eclipse we will see with the tetrad.
The event begins at about 10:58 tonight when a partial eclipse begins. The total eclipse should bet at 12:07 tomorrow morning. The moon will be eclipsed until around 1:25 with another partial eclipse ending at 2:33 am.
The Coconino Astronomical Society promotes taking advantage of the dark skies of Arizona to view astronomical events. They have a private, two-acre viewing area two-miles north of Williams provided for CAS members and their guests.
They group has recently been attempting to set up monthly viewing sessions inside Williams. Even within the lighted city the session this month provided remarkable views of Jupiter and four of the moons. Later in the summer Saturn will be visible including the amazing rings surrounding it.
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