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February 18, 2008
Total Lunar Eclipse Wed. Feb. 20
On Feb 20, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from Ann Arbor (and the rest of North America) in the evening. The real show runs from 10:01 PM until 10:51, when the Moon will be in the Earth¹s umbra, what eclipse watchers call "totality."
The Student Astronomical Society will have the Angell Hall Student Observatory open for eclipse watchers AFTER 10 PM, weather permitting. There is a class in the observatory before that, so members of the public are asked please, do not show up until after 10 PM.
You do not need a telescope or any special equipment to observe a lunar eclipse, just a clear view of the Moon. The partial eclipse begins at 8:43, when the moon starts to enter the Earth¹s umbra, and ends at 12:09 AM. Just look high in the east around 8:40 PM. The Moon will move higher as the eclipse progresses, to about 45º above the southeast horizon at mid-eclipse and 65º above the south horizon at the end of the eclipse. Although eclipses occur roughly every six months, they aren¹t always total, and they aren¹t always visible from here. We won¹t see another total eclipse from here until Dec 2010, so don¹t miss this one!
For more information see:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/13feb_lunareclipse.htm
Posted by betsywil at February 18, 2008 10:13 AM