Lunar Eclipse Next Tuesday Morning 50
Raver32 writes "Tuesday morning, Aug. 28 brings us the second total lunar eclipse of 2007. Those living in the Western Hemisphere and eastern Asia will be able to partake in at least some of this sky show.
The very best viewing region for viewing this eclipse will fall across the Pacific Rim, including the West Coast of the United States and Canada, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand and eastern Australia. All these places will be able to see the complete eclipse from start to finish.
Europeans will miss out on the entire show, as the Moon will be below the horizon during their mid and late morning hours."
Our turn! (Score:4, Insightful)
The March eclipse was over by moonrise here, but I will be in good shape for the August one. Except that totality is around 0300 local time. :-(
It's quite the show watching Earth's shadow creep across the moon, with the colour contrast betwen the greyish-white moon and Earth's copper-coloured shadow. And, unlike a solar eclipse, you can take your time. The last couple of lunar eclipses here have been relatively bright. The one I saw from Toronto in 2000 [nasa.gov] was dark, with the moon replaced by this dark, burned-out ash thing in the sky. Quite the sight!
I've only seen one total solar eclipse (29 March 2006 [nasa.gov], from Turkey). Unlike lunar eclipses, something deep inside us freaks out when the sun goes out during the day. It rattled us, and we knew what was happening; it must have scared the crap out of our ancestors.
...laura