Really, I don't know what all the fuss is about, unless perhaps you are a
statistician or just plain superstitious. A so called Super-Moon occurs if
the full moon is approximately at the closest point to earth on it's
slightly elliptical orbit. It appears slightly brighter than normal but the
difference is hardly noticeable. A lunar eclipse occurs if the full moon
passes through the shadow cast behind the earth by the sun. It all depends
on the alignment of the three celestial bodies. On average, the alignment is
right twice a year. The odds of a total eclipse coinciding with a Super-Moon
is quite small. A partial eclipse is quite widely visible but the total
eclipse is only visible in a fairly narrow band. The term "Blood Moon"
arises because, at totality, the moon is illuminated only by red light
refracted through the earth's atmosphere.
Mind you, it still remains a sight to behold. Imagine if the Earth had 10
moons!
Alan C
-----Original Message-----
From: David Mann
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 7:17 AM
To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
Subject: Re: Total Lunar Eclipse
The media here said it’s going to be a supermoon as well. We don’t get to
see the eclipse here :(
Cheers,
Dave
On Sep 23, 2015, at 7:18 am, Daniel J. Matyola <[email protected]>
wrote:
From an email I received this afternoon:
Total Lunar Eclipse!
On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North America
will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which occurred
in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
evening ones.
This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the Earth’s
dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and
continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next hour.
Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality itself,
while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
Planet Locator to identify them)
There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this event
unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at the
time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral shadow.
There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the Earth’s
shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in its
orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
at roughly its own diameter each hour.
While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
alone (as they have been throughout most of history!), they are
best-seen in binoculars. An ideal pair for this would be a 7×50 or
10×50 glass, the first number indicating its magnification and the
second the aperture in millimeters. Telescopes themselves, with their
relatively narrow fields of view, typically don’t provide enough sky
coverage around the Moon to get the full effect of its globe being
suspended in space. An exception here, however, is Scientifics’
amazing Astroscan wide-field reflecting telescope. Providing a
3-degree actual field of view at it low magnification of 16x, it takes
in an astounding six full-Moon-diameters of sky — something many have
described as looking through the porthole of a spaceship!
—James Mullaney
Former assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and author of 10
books on stargazing.
Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
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