You don’t want to sleep on this upcoming lunar event.
Just step outside on the evening of
March 13 or early in the morning of March 14 and take a look at the total lunar
eclipse for yourself. And you can count NASA’s Dr. Renee Weber among those who
will be checking it out – weather permitting and sleep not withstanding.
The phases of the 2019 total lunar eclipse as captured by Dr. Renee
Weber in a time-lapse image in Huntsville, Alabama. “I used a DSLR camera with
a standard zoom lens mounted on a tripod with a remote timer, and took pictures
every two minutes,” Weber said.
“As a child I remember begging my mom to
wake me up to see a lunar eclipse,” said Weber, the chief scientist at NASA’s
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “The next morning I was
mad because she didn’t wake me up – except she DID, but because I was so sleepy
I don’t have any memories of it! Fortunately I’ve gotten a few chances to see
lunar eclipses as an adult, including the one that occurred on Jan. 20, 2019,
which I also photographed.”
Given its nickname, a Blood Moon may not
sound as appealing as a Blue Moon or Harvest Moon. But this one lives up to its
name – at least when it comes to its potentially deep red color during a total
lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes
into Earth’s shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the
darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra. When the Moon is within the
umbra, it appears red-orange. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called “Blood Moons”
because of this phenomenon.
In Huntsville, the eclipse will begin in
partial phases at 10:57 p.m. on March 13, and end at 5:00 a.m. on March 14.
Totality will begin at 1:26 a.m. and end at 2:31, with maximum eclipse
occurring at 1:58. View more information on times to observe the eclipse in the Western
Hemisphere.
“With March being a pretty typical month
for spring showers, there’s roughly a 50/50 chance it’ll be cloudy, so keep a
close eye on the weather forecast leading up to the eclipse,” Weber said. “That
totality will last for close to an hour, so even if it’s cloudy you may still
be able to glimpse it if the clouds are scattered.”
“That totality will last for close
to an hour, so even if it’s cloudy you may still be able to glimpse it if the
clouds are scattered.
Dr. Renee Weber
Chief Scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
No special equipment is needed if the
clouds cooperate. And moving away from bright lights will give you a better
view, as will binoculars.
Why does the Moon turn that odd shade of
red? According to NASA, some of the sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere
reaches the Moon’s surface, lighting it dimly. Colors with shorter wavelengths
– the blues and violets – scatter more easily than colors with longer
wavelengths, like red and orange. Because these longer wavelengths make it
through Earth’s atmosphere, and the shorter wavelengths have scattered away,
the Moon appears orange or reddish during a lunar eclipse. The more dust or
clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the Moon appears.
The total lunar eclipse has already
garnered lots of media attention. Weber hopes such events creates more public
interest in learning more about the Moon and NASA missions.
“The Moon is a unique part of the human
experience, and sharing it with others has always been my passion,” she said.
“I’m so excited by NASA’s focus on lunar exploration, by astronauts with the Artemis missions, robotic landers through the Commercial Lunar Payload Service initiative, and with currently-operating spacecraft like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. These missions will allow us to make continued scientific discoveries
that inspire the nation and the world.”
Visit NASA’s What’s Up guide for monthly skywatching tips, and find lunar observing recommendations for each day of the year in the agency’s Daily Moon Guide.
By: By
Wayne Smith
Source: Don’t Sleep on This: Total Lunar Eclipse will Bring Blood Moon March 13-14 - NASA
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