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Science

Full Lunar Eclipse for North America 116

Posted by emmett from the isn't-totality-fun dept.
tech81 writes "MSNBC is reporting that all of North America will experience a full lunar eclipse on January 20, which also happens to be the first full moon of the new year. Check out the article at MSNBC Space News."
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Full Lunar Eclipse for North America More

Full Lunar Eclipse for North America

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  • Best URLS I've found so far - (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    --- Super-cool diagram [nasa.gov].

    and Detailed scientific information. [nasa.gov]

  • Best URLS I've found so far -- (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ---- Super-cool diagram [nasa.gov].

    and Detailed scientific information. [nasa.gov]

  • Thanks /. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Now I can plan my week with this useful bit of nformation.

  • Total Lunar Eclipse (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I believe there was a lunar eclipse late last year. So in effect we have an eclipse on either side of our New Year. A totally arbitrary distiction, but a bit ominous to those who believe in omens.
  • Dude... Lunar eclipses ONLY happen at night. You must be thinking of a solar eclipse.

    --synaptik
  • Perhaps viewing this thing would make a good second or third date???? :-)

    Of course, I'm in western Washington where it will probably be obscured by clouds... :-(
  • Next total solar eclipse visible from the United States: 21 August 2017. If you live in California, you'll have to go to Oregon to see it (assuming that Oregon's that state north of California, my US geography is not too good)

    I'm pretty much sure that us Northern Californians will have annexed that state, along with Washington state and the opressed Republic of Redmond by then. ;)

  • WHAT?!?!? a dry night on your 21st? that's horrible. All you gotta do is call in sick... they will give you a new date to appear for jury duty. Unless you're _on_ the jury, they don't have a problem with you rescheduling. I totally _forgot_ to go to jury duty once, and they just rescheduled it- WHEN IT WAS CONVENIENT FOR ME. I'm in CA, so I don't know what the situation is like where you are... but you _gotta_ do something fun for your bday.
  • Dude, "remember the alamo" was just a slogan. Let it GO, man!
  • also on my birthday
    It will be my 21st birthday. Too bad I have jury duty Jan 21st, so it'll be a very dry night.
    --
  • "Grits" are made of ground corn (that's "maize" to those of you outside North America) boiled to make a nasty sort of steamy, slimy slurry that supposedly passes itself off as a hot breakfast cereal when inundated with butter and salt but which is IMNSHO much better suited to being poured down the pants of and thus providing gratification to certain Anonymous Slashdotters. They (the grits, not the ACs) are consumed mostly in the southeast U.S. I get accused of being a Yankee because I can't stand 'em, myself, preferring oatmeal or reheated leftover pizza to break my fast.

    "And now you know... the rest of the story." :^p

    Zontar The Mindless,

  • When the UK/European eclipse happened (yes I have registered that it's the other type of eclipse) there were plenty of voices complaining that eclipses aren't "News for Nerds".

    On behalf of all those posters may I be the first to point out that if an eclipse isn't news when it happens in Europe, it also isn't news if it happens in America?
  • There is also one on August 1, 2008 for the Arctic.

  • doesn't it *have* to be a full moon to have a total lunar eclipse?

    Yes, it just happens to be the first full moon of the year.

    seems like if we're all lined up enough to make an eclipse it is bound to be a full moon.

    Indeed.

  • I don't think the US will have a solar eclipse until something like 2017 (seems like that's what the ole Farmers Almanac said, but it's been a while since I last read that).
  • "Cold and dim during daylight hours"? Wouldn't that be a solar eclipse you're describing?
  • You would be correct...correct in that you are wrong. The moon is indeed orange during an eclipse, because there's no way all the light can be blocked. The small amount of light that hits the moon gives it a nice orange tint.


    It is funny that you had no idea what you were talking about though...

    ha..ha..........ha (sigh)
  • A lunar eclipse happens multiple times a year and can be seen everywhere it is night during the eclipse. When the moon is orange, you are witnessing a lunar eclipse. It's really not as big of a deal as a solar eclipse because the shadow is big enough for everyone to see instead of it being localized in a certain place.

    This is neither flamebait nor troll, please don't moderate down...
  • Of course it's a full moon. A full lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon, just as a solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon.

    If we can see the dark side of the moon, we're not directly between the moon and the sun, which we must be to completely put the moon in shadow.


    Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation
  • Actually, while only the folks enjoying night time can see the eclipse without electronic aids, it is happening all the same for all the others who are on the sunlit side of the world.


    Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation
  • This is obviously a message from God telling us all that we have, too, started the new millenium. Who are you going to believe, some monk who didn't even know about zero, or a heavenly portent?


    Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation
  • >I would guess that "heppens to be the first full moon of the year" refers to the coincidence of the first full moon of the year being an eclipse.

    Ah, thank you - when put that way, it makes complete sense.
  • this is random, but I've noticed you seem to like to use the word skive.


  • That is correct. Lunar eclipses can occur only at the full moon, and solar eclipses can occur only at the new moon. I would guess that "heppens to be the first full moon of the year" refers to the coincidence of the first full moon of the year being an eclipse. Because not all full moons are eclipses, this would be somewhat unusual, albeit not particularly remarkable.


    -r

  • Lunar eclipses only occur during full moons.

    Think about it.

  • Uh, I could be wrong here, but if the moon's eclipsed, you can't see it at all, because the earth's blocking the light that normally bounces of of it. Red (and orange & blue & any other funky colour) moons are atmospheric anomalies. And fairly rare in most places.
  • I see. Makes sense, I suppose. Never actually seen one myself. (Unless that's what caused that blood-red moon I saw a few months ago...)
  • No...but youre obviously not as 31337 as you think...we c00l 31337 slashdotters have portable fires that come out of a small box...and little round glass things that look like a miniature sun!

    We also have wheels...oh yeah...and hand-dryers!!!!

  • I think if NASA read that post we'd likely hit Y3K beofre they managed to get back to you using the instructions in your sig.

    Cmon, explain what it all means!
    I bet you just typed in some random chars in didnt you?

  • hahaha, and I thought that was caused by Y2K....

  • I was scared of the sheer volume of mail I might get after all those endless pro-microsoft rants you see...

  • allright then rob@twcnyrr.com, ive got you now!
    hahahaha...is that even right? Im betting the rob and the com are right... but what is twcnyrr, lol

  • Wow, I think we just found the Full Lunar Eclipse Bug... quick!!! stop those landfill trucks going to your bunker and clean it out....but this time it will be worse... reinforce the concrete by 2 feet more, and stock at least 18 months of canned food this time!!!


  • Funny, I've gotten about 70 e-mails from Slashdot. That many people seem to have figured out my address.

    And it's not like your address is very clear - or, in fact, visible at all.
    --
  • doesn't it *have* to be a full moon to have a total lunar eclipse?

    seems like if we're all lined up enough to make an eclipse it is bound to be a full moon.
  • hey man, don't knock hand-dryers.
  • ... however, due to timezone difference, the eclipse happens late evening 20th January in North America, but in the wee morning 21st January in Europe. Hence American calendars show the full moon on 20th, whereas European ones show it on 21st.
  • > So in effect we have an eclipse on either side of our New Year. A totally arbitrary distiction, but a bit ominous to those who believe in omens.

    Speaking of Omens: does anybody chance a guess what this eclipse will do the stock markets, and to Linux stocks in particular? The solar eclipse was a boon (RHAT IPO), the "extrabright" full moon of December 22nd was a catastrophe (CORL 4th quarter losses preannouncement), now what kind of news will the lunar eclipse bring?

  • ...for nerds that very day. A very eery coincidence, unless they picked that day on purpose (just wondering...)
  • ... in the early morning hours (sometimes between 4 to 5 am, AFAIK) of January 21st.
  • When we had the Lunar eclipse in the UK it was an odd and slightly mystical experience. The way it gets cold and dim during daylight hours is wierd but the corona is spectacular!

    Enjoy!
  • That's the day before Kevin Mitnick finally gets his release? Coincidence? I don't think so. This might be a "sign" that his release is a forerunner for... the ANTICHRIST!


    Yes, the antichrist will come in mid to late January. S/he didn't come earlier because they wanted to make you feel secure. Safe. Out of the frying pan. Into the fire. What's scarier, the monster jumping out of the closet, or checking the closet, finding it empty, and having the monster jump on your head?

    Yes, the antichrist is on his way. The signs will be inflicting demons upon the world (Mitnick, Prince Harry, solo spice girl albums), disappointing software (Quake 3, Netscape "Milestone" 10), and distortions in reality to cloud our sanity (Yahoo share price, linux-based start-ups, Charles Schulz' retirement).

    With his/her lackey Mitnick at his side, the antichrist will rule with an iron fist, and all those who bear the mark of the beast (the "apple" logo) will know his/her suzerainty.

    The news will be announced on mp3.com, as the antichrist flogs his/her new album. Then the end will come.

    http://www.slaughterhouse.ab.ca
  • Drat. This one's at nighttime, so no time skiving off to wander around outside the office wearing silly shiny overpriced paper goggles, staring at a heavenly body that's got a chunk ripped out of it.

    I'll be in bed.
  • I was, oddly enough... I was around for the recent total solar (in Ireland), where everyone who wasn't chained to their desks was standing around looking like a mini festival crowd, only with spangly spectacles.... none of that with a lunar. Last lunar I saw I was working nights anyway... so I got to skive off. Didn't have to use the cheap welding goggles though...

  • Oh good; I wouldn't want to risk getting a tan or anything. :)


    ---

  • I have never seen a total solar eclipse in my 35 years of life here in So Cal. Anyone know when we will see a total solar eclipse in North America (particularly here in So Cal)?

    I know it's not for a while, but I can't remember how long.


    ---

  • Must be cold where you are.

    P.S. And I'm turning off my bonus for this comment, just for you.


    ---

  • kinda good article (nice picture anyway) about the moon on abcnews [go.com] this week. Explains the "why does the moon look so big on the horizon" paradox. And it's pretty interesting.

    plot summary: seeing steroscopic stuff in the foreground drives home the point to your brain that the moon is far away. Your brain says, "wow, moderate the size of that sucker up!"

  • Interesting article. If we took a photograph of the moon when it looks big and one when it looks small to us, would the image of the moon be bigger on the first photograph? I would guess that the moon is bigger in the photograph taken when it looked bigger. Wouldn't this disprove their theory?
  • After all, every geek on earth has installed /usr/games/rot13 by now, since this [userfriendly.org] Ufie.
  • probally because we're american bastards who think that if it were not for us there would not be things like electricity, automobiles, freedom, happiness, social order, lunar eclipses, football, the human race, etc, etc, etc
  • according to some calendars, its also a full moon ... although other calendars say the full moon is on 21jan

    either way, i hope to find someplace with clear skys, because it'll either be full or nearly full, and pretty cool

    the last one i saw was a few years ago, and just really cool

    <shameless-plug>also on my birthday</shameless-plug>

  • come to think of it, you're probably right

    oh well, i guess i never quite thought of it that way

    thanks for the correction, though

  • My younger brother's birthday as well.
  • we all go to redmond and moon the ms campus

    i got your full moon right here

  • whatever we're seeing in NGC4214 happened 13 million years ago. Not my definition of "currently,"

    Nor is it mine, but 13 million years is currently in stellar formation terms. Remember, our Sun is over 4.5 billion years old. The science behind the original statement is sound. My but aren't we quick to judge?

  • IIRC there is another total solar eclipse in the US from north to south in 2026. It will roughly follow the Mississippi river I believe.

    The 2017 eclipse should be good. August is a great month in Oregon, and I may climb Mt. Jefferson that day. :-) That eclipse goes west to east pretty much across the whole country.

  • ... (Score:2)

    by Signal 11 ( 7608 )
    Yes... it's just a coincidence... yeah... you just keep telling yourself that... and when the sun gets blotted out and the alien ships land and turn you into food for their pets... yeah...

  • Here's more on the subject.
    Astronomy magazine [kalmbach.com]

    check it out, but do dress warm.
  • >a full lunar eclipse on January 20, which also happens to be the first full moon of the new year.

    I thought this was no coincidence, that a full lunar eclipse was only possible when the moon is on the far side of the earth from the sun, which is when it appears full. no? astonomers care to comment?


  • Flamebait, but I won't bite. Ever learned how to read? I was talking about South America.
  • I just want to say that I have to agree with you. But if you want to see a total solar eclipse, you should plan on travelling to go see one.

    I've seen several total lunar eclipses, and partial solars, but only one total solar eclipse (this one last summer on 8/11, from Hungary.) There is absolutely no comparison as to the profound effect seeing the sun blotted out and replaced with a glowing circle of white fire had on me, versus the mere curiosity of the lunar and partial solars. I can only describe the total eclipse in such superlatives as: a religious experience, an epiphany, or orgasmic. It literally left me trembling in awe and questioning my own place in the universe.

    As for the total lunar eclipses, and partial solars, I would describe them in terms such as: Hey that's cool, the moon is red! or, Wow pretty neat, if I look at the sun's shadow there is a bite taken out of it!

    If you wait for the total solar to come to you, who's to say you won't have cloud cover that day, or perhaps smog if you live in Southern Cali. Find a listing of total eclipses and choose one soon that will pass over a location you would like to trave to anyway. It may take a couple of tries, but eventually you will be treated to the experience of a lifetime.
  • This could be funny. Go and see how many people you can convince that the Moon is crashing from a Y2K bug.
    --
  • How does that work? X-rays pointing through the ground?

    During a full moon, which is necessary for the eclipse, the side of the earth where it is night is the same side that can see the moon.
    --
  • It would disprove their theory if it actually happened, which I seriously doubt. The moon remains the same size in the sky.

    To test this, hold a dime a certain length away from your eye when the moon looks big, so that it just covers it. Then hold it the same distance away when it looks small, and it'll still just cover the moon.
    --
  • By the way, speaking of So Cal, I just want to say that it's about 72 degrees F and beautiful, just for you so-and-sos who have seen a solar eclipse. :)


    Don't worry, the temperature does drop slightly during the eclipse and during totality the amount of harmful UV is significantly reduced. It will be safe for you to come outside and watch the next one, even in So. California. ;-)
  • Located about 13 million light-years from Earth, NGC4214 (a galaxy) is currently forming clusters of new stars from its interstellar gas and dust.

    Excuse me, alleged science journalists: whatever we're seeing in NGC4214 happened 13 million years ago. Not my definition of "currently," although it maybe explains certain software companies' definition of "we'll be coming out with a new version Really Soon Now."

    Of course, it might still be "currently" making new stars (right, Mr. Einstein?), but we can't see it.

  • Didn't the mexicans attack the Alamo during a full lunar eclipse?


    ---

  • I guess the full moon was just not Y2K complient in North America. A programmers team is working on this issue and a patch will be released soon.
  • a full lunar eclipse on January 20, which also happens to be the first full moon of the new year.

    I thought this was no coincidence, that a full lunar eclipse was only possible when the moon is on the far side of the earth from the sun, which is when it appears full. no? astonomers care to comment?

    Yes, all lunar eclipses occur when the moon is full. Think of it this way, the only way that the earth can block the sun's light from getting to the moon would be if the sun was at 6-O'clock, and the moon was at 12-O'clock (using that crazy military reference where 6-o'clock is exactly behind you and 12-o'clock is exactly in front of you).

    The greatest irony is that the moon is at it's fullest at precisely the time that we can't see it. When it is totally eclipsed.

  • it looks like the next total solar eclipse in north america is on 21Aug2017, and passes through northern oregon

    unfortunately, that seems the be the closest (and soonest) before 2050


    but on 23Sept2071 there's one thru baja somewhere

    i got this data from http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.g ov/eclipse/SEmap/SENorAm.html [nasa.gov]

  • If you're still interested, checkout Encyclopedia Brittanica's [britannica.com] article on the frequency of solar and lunar eclipses. Also, they have a rather technical, but very interesting article [britannica.com] on the predictions and uses of both solar and lunar eclipses - including methods to prove General Relativity. I realize this is slightly offtopic, as some of it pertains to Solar eclipses, but its something Im interested in:)
    signature smigmature
  • Our atmosphere is acts bit like a lense, and bends refracts some of the light on to the moon. The amount of light that is defracted thus, therefore the brightness of the moon on during the eclipse, depends on the quality of earth's atmosphere on the day of the eclipse.

    If the atmosphere is all full a volcanic ash, or smoke from big forest-fires etc., then the light of the moon would greatly diminish.

    Every new-moon has the potential for a solar eclipse, and every fullmoon for a lunar one. However, given that the moon is pretty small compared to earth, during solar eclipses, the shadow of the moon might miss the earth completely. The moon is not that lucky to get out earth's shadow. Therefore, more lunar eclipses are visible than solar eclipses. For the folk on the moon, our lunar eclipse is a solar eclipse, and our solar eclipse is, errr, terra eclipse perhaps.

  • ``North America''? (Score:3)

    by David A. Madore ( 30444 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @01:23PM (#1390790) Homepage

    Excuuuuse me? What in the world does it mean for a lunar eclipse to be ``in (for) North America''?

    This would make sense for a solar eclipse, since solar eclipses are very localized, but a solar eclipse happens at the new moon, whereas a lunar eclipse happens at the full moon (for obvious reasons).

    A lunar eclipse is visible throughout the hemisphere where it is night (which, of course, is the same as the hemisphere where the moon is visible, since the moon and the sun are in opposition), so at best the ``north'' in ``North America'' is out of place.

    This fact (that lunar eclipses are visible from half the world whereas solar eclipses are visible from such a small region) makes lunar eclipses seem much more common than solar eclipses; in fact, the contrary is true. The last total solar eclipse [slashdot.org] in the world was on August 11, 1999 in Europe (I was there), and the next one is next year in Madagascar.

  • Message from the Watchdogs (Score:3)

    by wagnerer ( 53943 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @07:12PM (#1390791)
    Dear God:

    This is to notify you that your program entitled 'full-moon screen saver' has a rather severe cosmetic Y2K bug in it. As a result, on January 20'th of your year 2000, the full moon will experience color and brightness difficulties that significantly deviate from the published standard. Our analysts believe there is even a chance it may turn red, a widely touted feature of your 'shutdown/halt' program, possibly causing confusion among your users.

    We strongly encourage you to correct this problem at your earliest convenience.

    Y2K Watchdog committee

  • Good opportunity... (Score:3)

    by WombatControl ( 74685 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @01:49PM (#1390792)
    For all of you that work in an NT shop, all you need to do is tell your boss that if you don't switch over to Linux before January 20, you'll make the moon disappear. Who knows, it might even work.

    On another, related front, I've found that astronomical events make great times to get with your significant other and spend some quality time...

  • how BIG is it, though? (Score:3)

    by LocalYokel ( 85558 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @12:40PM (#1390793) Homepage Journal

    I'm not interested in this full moon eclipse unless the moon will be big and bright enough that you could drive without headlights. With a fresh coat of snow and a full moon, you can almost do this in Minnesota already, but...

    I understand that the Druids used a lunar eclipse to make a sneak attack on Crazy Horse, shortly after he used the light of an unusually bright moon the previous month to defeat George Washington's army at the battle of Waterloo. They went on to build the Great Wall of China, before finally settling in what's now called Venezuela, but I could be wrong -- there seems to be a little too much historical confusion about celestial events as of late... :-)

    --

  • Re:Screw the lunar... I want solar! (Score:3)

    by RuntimeError ( 132945 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @12:24PM (#1390794)
    The next total solar eclipse won't be seen in North America till 2017. The path of totality will cross,northern Oregon first, and then head down in a general southeast direction through parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Nth Carolina, Georgia, to finally leave the continent from South Carolina, between Charleston and Georgetown, and continue on down towards the south Atlantic.

  • First time in 30038392 Years! (Score:4)

    by SGC ( 32504 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @12:09PM (#1390795)
    The combination of a full moon and a full lunar eclipse will result in the moon appearing 0.02001% larger AND brighter than it has in several centuries!

    This will truly be an exciting night! I suggest everyone emails every person they know with this amazing news!

  • Upcoming eclipses (Score:5)

    by B.D.Mills ( 18626 ) on Saturday January 08, 2000 @09:05PM (#1390796)
    I happen to have the pair of NASA publications as reference books: (Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986-2035 and (Fifty Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses: 1986-2035)... so here's the details.

    Next total solar eclipse visible from the United States: 21 August 2017. If you live in California, you'll have to go to Oregon to see it (assuming that Oregon's that state north of California, my US geography is not too good)

    Then there's a total solar eclipse visible from Texas to the Great Lakes on 8 Apr 2024.

    A third American total solar eclipse is on 12 Aug 2045, visible from northern California to Florida.

    There's more, but it's pointless posting those because you won't be around in 2078 or 2099 to see those ones (unless you're a Montgomery-Burns-style head-in-a-jar-of-liquid then...)

    As for total lunar eclipses, I'll give details of upcoming total eclipses by naming the dates and the approximate position of the point of the Earth's surface that's directly overhead at maximum eclipse:

    • 21 Jan 2000 - Carribbean
    • 16 Jul 2000 - the sea near Brisbane (Australia)
    • 09 Jan 2001 - Saudi Arabia
    • 16 May 2003 - Brazil
    • 09 Nov 2003 - Atlantic Ocean west of Africa
    • 04 May 2004 - Madagascar
    • 28 Oct 2004 - Atlantic Ocean north of Brazil

    For the Americans, who are the majority of the Slashotters, these total lunar eclipses should be visible at some point in the night in question:

    • 21 Jan 2000 - good view from all of U.S. and Canada
    • 16 Jul 2000 - beginning of eclipse visible from western U.S., but no view of totality
    • 09 Jan 2001 - end of eclipse visible from eastern U.S. and Canada but no view of totality
    • 16 May 2003 - Good view of eclipse from most of U.S. and Canada, but western regions will miss the beginning of eclipse.
    • 09 Nov 2003 - Most of eclipse visible from the U.S. and Canada, most regions will miss the beginning
    • 04 May 2004 - Not visible
    • 28 Oct 2004 - All of eclipse visible from U.S. and Canada, except for western regions that miss the beginning; all of totality visible

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