Week of Jan. 13-19, 2019
If you've got plans for Sunday evening, Jan. 20, break 'em!
Or, better yet, change them, since you'll definitely want to be outdoors watching the dramatic total lunar eclipse that night. Not only will this feature a full moon (which, of course, must exist for a lunar eclipse to occur) but it will also be the annual wolf moon as well as a perigee moon (a "supermoon," as the media loves to call it).
The sky show begins officially at 7:33 p.m. PST (10:33 p.m. EST), as the moon's eastern edge slips into the Earth's dark inner shadow — the umbra.
For the next hour or so, the moon will dim as it slips deeper into our planet's umbra until 8:41 p.m. PST (11:41 p.m. EST), when it becomes totally eclipsed, called totality.
During totality, the moon may take on strange coppery hue. This color occurs because sunlight passing through our atmosphere is reddened and bent inward toward the darkened surface of the totally eclipsed moon. Just how red and bright it appears depends on how clear our planet's atmosphere is at the time sunlight is passing through it and how dark your sky is at the time. A totally eclipsed moon can range from bright orange to practically invisible.
You'll certainly be able to watch the sky show even from under bright city lights, but for a truly dramatic view, head out to dark rural skies. Here, during totality, you'll see the ruddy orb of the moon suspended just to the east of the stunningly brilliant winter star groupings like Gemini, Orion, Auriga and Taurus.
Totality lasts until 9:43 p.m. PST (12:43 a.m. EST on Jan. 21), when the eastern edge of the moon emerges into bright sunlight once again. Now the umbral shadow continues to retreat westward across the moon's face, leaving it completely at 10:50 p.m. PST (1:50 a.m. EST).
Because the moon's orbit is tipped about five degrees to the Earth-sun plane, the moon only passes through our planet's shadow about every six months. That's why we don't experience a lunar eclipse during every full moon — or a solar eclipse with every new moon.
Unlike an eclipse of the sun, a lunar eclipse is perfectly safe to view without protective filters. All you need is your eyes, but if you've got binoculars or a small telescope, you may find viewing through them to be even more fun.
To learn who might be hosting a free lunar eclipse viewing party in your area, check with your local planetarium, college or amateur astronomy club. Or check out skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-clubs-organizations/. And to learn more about how to view and photograph this remarkable celestial phenomenon, visit mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html.
Let's hope that clouds don't block our view that night, because we'll have to wait a few years until we in North America get our next good view of a total lunar eclipse. If, however, you should miss this one in your sky — or if you're in a part of the world where you can't see it — you can still watch the show live via webcast at lunareclipse2018.org/live-webcast/.
Mark your calendar, and make your plans for Sunday night, Jan. 20. This should be a good one!
Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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