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Total Lunar Eclipse - 2007 AUG 28

Notrump

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Notrump
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A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur on Tuesday 2007 AUG 28. This will be during the pre-dawn hours for observers in North America and in the evening for those in the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Sorry Europeans, but you’ll be shut out. Folks in eastern North America will see the Moon setting while the eclipse is in progress. That should be an intriguing site against morning twilight. Those to the west will witness the full eclipse.

I’ve created three preview panoramas of the eclipse, including data: One each for Illinois, California and Australia. The event times (when translated to Universal Time) will be the same for everyone. But the viewing perspective will vary for specific locations, so just choose the graphic for the spot closest to your own. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread. ;)
 
Eclipse Stages in Universal Time

Here are the timings I’ve calculated for the various stages of the eclipse in Universal Time. I use the French Rule for shadow sizes; most sources use the classic rule which is less accurate. And I know of no one else who takes into account the oblate shape of the Earth. The eclipse will occur at the same real time for all observers experiencing nighttime.

Total Lunar Eclipse
2007 AUG 28

07:54 UT – Moon enters Earth’s penumbra (outer fringe shadow)
08:52 UT – Moon enters Earth’s umbra (inner dark shadow)
09:21 UT – Moon 50% immersed in umbra
09:53 UT – Totality begins
10:37 UT – Maximum eclipse at magnitude 1.470
11:22 UT – Totality ends
11:53 UT – Moon 50% immersed in umbra
12:23 UT – Moon exits umbra
13:21 UT – Moon exits penumbra

The penumbral phase of the eclipse will only be noticeable when the Moon comes fairly close to the umbra and some light shadowing appears along a portion of the Moon’s limb. An observer standing on the Moon within the Earth’s penumbra would be witnessing a partial eclipse (technically, an occultation) of the Sun by the Earth. That means only a portion of the Sun’s apparent disk would be visible. An observer standing on the Moon within the Earth’s umbra would be witnessing a total eclipse of the Sun by the Earth. That means the Sun would be totally obscured by the Earth, although the Earth’s atmosphere would appear as a reddish band. That’s the reason we often perceive a reddish hue of the Moon during the total phase of the eclipse. ;)
 
Thanks for the link being in Britain its the only way I'll get to see it.
 
For Those Not Living in the Center of the Earth

BlackKat said:
Thanks for the reminder and the viewing charts.

I had forgotten this was coming up and probably would have slept in.

Here's NASA's page for the upcoming event.
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2007Aug28/TLE2007Aug28.html
Click to expand...

You're welcome. Although I hope you don't curse me when the alarm clock rings. Warning regarding the NASA image: It assumes you are located in the center of the Earth and have chosen the direction toward the North Pole to be up. My charts place you on the surface of the Earth with the Zenith as up. ;)
 
Yeah, but I hear it will be washed out by a full moon. Maybe next year it'll happen during a new moon so we can see it better.


In jest I say this...
 
I just hope not too many Kiwis stay up long enough to see it, but unfortunately, it's visible here at the very friendly hours of 9-11 pm.

Many Kiwis were stoopid enough to ring the police when they saw the comet earlier this year, so christ knows what they'll think when the moon goes dark.

NZ details here.
 
Cool fact:

The moon turns red because of sunlight scattered around the earth through the atmosphere. That means if you were on the moon, the earth would appear as a bright orange ring; you'd be simultaneously seeing every earthly sunrise and sunset!
 
Full Moon Brightness

Starthinker said:
Yeah, but I hear it will be washed out by a full moon. Maybe next year it'll happen during a new moon so we can see it better.
In jest I say this...
Click to expand...

LOL. Here's a related quiz. A Half Moon (first or last quarter) averages what percentage of the brightness of a Full Moon? Don't be afraid to guess. It would be interesting to learn the range of estimates. The responder with the most nearly correct answer will win a free ticket to the eclipse (transportation not included.) :eye-poppi

BTW, the terms first and last quarter refer to the Moon's 90° separation from the Sun and not the illuminated fraction of the Moon's apparent disk. At the quarters we see a Half Moon in the sky. ;)
 
Last edited:
Notrump said:
LOL. Here's a related quiz. A Half Moon (first or last quarter) averages what percentage of the brightness of a Full Moon? Don't be afraid to guess. It would be interesting to learn the range of estimates. The responder with the most nearly correct answer will win a free ticket to the eclipse (transportation not included.) :eye-poppi

BTW, the terms first and last quarter refer to the Moon's 90° separation from the Sun and not the illuminated fraction of the Moon's apparent disk. At the quarters we see a Half Moon in the sky. ;)
Click to expand...

Since no-one has made any responses to this, I will. The obvious answer is 50%. However I think the correct answer is a little less than this. Part of me says the answer is a lot less, but I do not know why.

My official answer is 45%.
 
Next Guesser Please

rjh01 said:
Since no-one has made any responses to this, I will. The obvious answer is 50%. However I think the correct answer is a little less than this. Part of me says the answer is a lot less, but I do not know why.

My official answer is 45%.
Click to expand...

You’ve earned a special citation for having the courage to offer a guess. You might have won the ticket, if you had trusted your intuition. ;)
 
Thanks. Since I am the only person to have made a guess after 2.6 days does that mean I win?

All what some smart-ass had to do was say 30% and they would be closer to the right answer.

I intend to look at it as I am in Australia. The weather forecast is good. Does anyone want photos? How often should I take a photo?
 
Multiple Choice

rjh01 said:
Thanks. Since I am the only person to have made a guess after 2.6 days does that mean I win?

All what some smart-ass had to do was say 30% and they would be closer to the right answer.

I intend to look at it as I am in Australia. The weather forecast is good. Does anyone want photos? How often should I take a photo?
Click to expand...

Photos would be great. One every 15 minutes after the Moon touches the umbra would nicely illustrate the progression of the eclipse.

I'll change the quiz to multiple choice regarding the brightness of a Half Moon relative to a Full Moon. You can reenter with a new guess. ;)

A) 8%
B) 28%
C) 48%
D) 68%
E) 88%
 
rjh01 said:
Thanks. Since I am the only person to have made a guess after 2.6 days does that mean I win?

All what some smart-ass had to do was say 30% and they would be closer to the right answer.

I intend to look at it as I am in Australia. The weather forecast is good. Does anyone want photos? How often should I take a photo?
Click to expand...

Race to get the first pics up?

Might be difficult for me, my telephoto is a film camera and my digital only has digital zoom, but I'm trying to hook it up to the telescope.

We have 10/10 cloud at the moment, but due to clear this afternoon.

HOPE SO!

Comet and full lunar eclipse in the one year! The majesty of the non-theistic heavens in all their naturalism.

Love it.
 
Notrump said:
I'll change the quiz to multiple choice regarding the brightness of a Half Moon relative to a Full Moon. You can reenter with a new guess. ;)

A) 8%
B) 28%
C) 48%
D) 68%
E) 88%
Click to expand...
Unless you re-define Half Moon as you did in the first quiz, I'll say the correct answer should be 100%. So of the choices, I'd say E is the closest.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
Am I spacing out, or does this NASA graphic showing the eclipse times have the moon traversing the sky from west to east?
Click to expand...

You're not spacing out (pun intended?), it actually shows that. It's correct however. The Moon's daily motion (and the Sun, stars, etc) is east to west, due to the rotation of the Earth. However, since the Moon is also orbiting the Earth, we have to consider that too. When Earth's rotational motion is subtracted out, the Moon appears to move west to east against the background stars. The orbital component of the Moon's motion is noticeable during an Eclipse chiefly because Earth's shadow in space is not dependent on its spin.

~goodguyseatpie~
 
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