 Weather
permitting, sky gazers in North and Central America and a tiny
sliver of South America will boast the best seats to this year's
only total eclipse of the moon.The eclipse will happen Monday
night on the West Coast and during the wee hours Tuesday on the East
Coast. Western Europe will only see the start of the spectacle,
while western Asia will catch the tail end.
The moon is normally illuminated by the sun. During a total lunar
eclipse, the full moon passes through the shadow created by the
Earth blocking the sun's light. Some indirect sunlight will still
manage to pierce through and give the moon a ghostly color.
Since the eclipse coincides with winter solstice, the moon will
appear high in the sky -- a boon for sky watchers. With recent
volcanic eruptions around the globe dumping tons of dust into the
atmosphere, scientists predict the moon may appear darker than usual
during the eclipse, glowing an eerie red or brown instead of the
usual orange-yellow tinge.
North and Central America should be able to view the entire show,
which is expected to last 3 1/2 hours if skies are clear. Total
eclipse begins at 11:41 p.m. PST Monday or 2:41 a.m. EST Tuesday.
The totality phase -- when the moon is entirely inside Earth's
shadow -- will last a little over an hour.
"It's perfectly placed so that all of North America can see it,"
said eclipse expert Fred Espenak of NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center.
The Griffith Observatory perched on the south slope of Mount
Hollywood in Los Angeles will host an eclipse party Monday evening,
although rain is forecast. Telescopes will be set out on the lawn
for the public, and astronomers will give free lectures on the
eclipse's various stages.
If clouds or rain set in, the observatory plans to stream live
video of the eclipse from the Internet. Among the various outfits
that will show the eclipse live is NASA, which has a camera mounted
at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
"Our event will go on rain or shine," said Griffith Observatory
astronomer Anthony Cook.
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Unlike solar eclipses, which require protective glasses, lunar
eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye.
U.S. Naval Observatory spokesman Geoff Chester finds solar
eclipses more exciting than the lunar counterpart. But solar
eclipses tend to occur in remote parts of the world, while lunar
eclipses are usually visible from an entire hemisphere.
"If you get skunked by bad weather, all you have to do is wait a
few years for the next one to come around," Chester said.
There are two total lunar eclipses in 2011 -- in June and
December. North America will miss the June show and witness only a
part of next December’s eclipse.
[Associated Press;
By ALICIA CHANG]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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