Get Ready for the April 14-15 Total Lunar Eclipse

On Monday April 14th, late in the evening for most folks in the U.S., the Moon will pass through Earth’s shadow. That event, called a total lunar eclipse, will begin just before 4:55 a.m. UTC on April 15th, (that’s 12:55 a.m., EDT, 11:55 p.m. CDT, 10:55 p.m. MDT, and 9:55 p.m. PDT on April 14th) and last for several hours before it passes out of the shadow. Sure, it’s early in the morning for most of us, but you don’t get to see these things very often, so I advise you make some plans to stay up late (maybe after you’ve made that last mad dash to the Post Office to mail your taxes (if you’re in the U.S.) and watch the show. To help you along, the folks at the Slooh.com will be hosting a five-hour event, starting with coverage of Mars, starting at 7 p.m. PDT. They’ll focus their telescopes on the Red Planet, and then the eclipse. Along the way, you’ll hear from astronomy experts, giving their view on the events occurring the sky.

If you do take the opportunity to see the eclipse, here’s what you can expect. First, as the Moon slips into the penumbra (the outer shadow), it will start to get slightly dark. In all fairness, it will be fairly difficult to tell the Moon is darkening during this phase, unless you have a light meter and can measure the changing albedo of the Moon. However, once it slips into the umbra (the full Earth shadow) at 12:08 a.m. PDT (3:08 a.m. EDT), the Moon will be noticeably darker, and begin to take on a coppery-red color. It appears not too far from the bright shiny star Spica, with Red Mars not too far away, and brilliant Saturn at lower left.

Eventually the Moon leaves the umbra at 1:23 a.m. PDT (5:23 a.m. EDT), moving back into the penumbra, and the eclipse ends at 3:36 a.m. PDT (6:36 a.m. EDT).

People all over the Americas will be able to see this eclipse, along with folks in parts of the Pacific (see a complete list here) will be able to glimpse some or all of it.

I’ve witnessed I don’t know how many lunar eclipses and have seen four total solar eclipses and one annular. Each one is special, and different. Each one brings with it a sense of awe, and teaches us just how cool it is that our Earth orbits the Sun, our Moon orbits Earth, and sometimes they all line up in just the right way in a perfectly normal occurrence that happens over and over again.

Give yourself the gift of a lunar eclipse next week. Start planning now to watch as Earth’s shadow slips across the face of the Moon. For more information on the eclipse, visit MrEclipse.comand Timeanddate.com. And, if the weather’s poor at your location, or you’re in an area where the eclipse can’t be seen at all, be sure and check out the Slooh.com webcast.