Lunar eclipse visible from Ann Arbor, except for those pesky clouds
A total eclipse of the moon will be visible during the early morning Tuesday. The moon will start to go into eclipse at 12:27 a.m., and will start the total eclipse at 2:40 a.m. The greatest eclipse will be at 3:17 a.m. and the total eclipse will end at 3:53 a.m. The eclipse ends at 6:06 a.m.
Alas, the predicted weather for tonight is cloudy, so the chances are small that you'll see this event clearly from the Ann Arbor. Failing that, here are some ways to be tuned in to the moon.
Will it be clear or cloudy?
Since it's winter in Michigan, chances are good that it will be cloudy at night on any given night; tonight's forecast is for clouds.
More generally, a good way to check for observing conditions is to look at the Ann Arbor Clear Sky Chart, which is produced by Attilla Danko of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This set of charts, based on meteorological models from the Canadian Meteorological Centre, predicts good sky viewing conditions at more than 4,000 locations.
If you want to go somewhere to see the eclipse, where would you go? Check the Michigan charts, and note a prediction of clear skies in Sault Ste Marie, about 6 hours north of Ann Arbor. The Ohio charts and Indiana charts all show gray skies. Further afield, though, a number of Ontario locations, especially those further north, will be clear tonight. Head for Lake Superior Provincial Park if you're looking for good observing conditions.
What color will the moon be?
"Subtle hues of orange, red, or brown from the weak sunlight that's refracted around Earth's edge," says Sky and Telescope. A "coppery red color", says Fox News, noting that recent volcanic eruptions may make the moon darker.
"Expect the total phase to appear bright red or orange," says Mr. Eclipse, Fred Espenak of Tracys Landing, Md.; visit his site for some lovely lunar eclipse photos.
How do I track the moon from my mobile phone?
Courtesy SkySafari
If you have an iPhone, please take a look at SkySafari Lite, which is free until December 21; it's an iPhone, iPod and iPad application to track the night sky, and it is set up to track this lunar eclipse so that even if the sky is utterly covered with clouds you can still see where the moon would be.
Watching by webcam
- Santiago, Chile via USTREAM
- NASA MSFC is cloudy
- Columbus State University, sponsored by Coca-Cola; requires Microsoft Silverlight
- (your suggestion here)
References
- The Wikipedia entry for the December 2010 lunar eclipse is characteristically thorough.
- Sky and Telescope Magazine notes eclipses for 2010 and 2011.
- Mr. Eclipse has a wonderful collection of eclipse photography.
- The NASA official eclipse website is, perhaps not surprisingly, quite busy this morning. Don't worry, even if the NASA website is down, the moon still orbits the earth.
- Shadow and Substance has an animated simulation of the eclipse and a detailed list of times when the Earth's shadow will cross specific craters on the Moon.
- For more general astronomical observation ideas, see my earlier column on observing the stars.
How it all worked out
Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.
Time lapse video of Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse on December 21, 2010 from 1:10 AM EST (6:10 GMT) to 5:03 AM EST (10:03 GMT) from Gainesville Florida. Music is Claude Debussy Nocturnes: Sirènes.
Edward Vielmetti looks up at the clouds and sees the bright stars behind them for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at edwardvielmetti@annarbor.com.
Comments
Roaring_Chicken
Tue, Dec 21, 2010 : 7:44 a.m.
Many thanks to the University Lowbrow Astronomers who managed to get the Clear Sky generator operating about 3:30am for a few glimpses of the event! Hats off to the guys at Peach Mountain!
Steve Pepple
Tue, Dec 21, 2010 : 7:26 a.m.
A comment posted overnight has been removed because it contained name-calling, a violation of our conversation guidelines.
eclipsicator
Tue, Dec 21, 2010 : 3:33 a.m.
this is the worst eclipse i've ever seen... thanks a lot eddie. i kept my entire family up for this and this is how you do me? Little Timmy now has frostbite on two toes and an image forever etched in his mind of a slightly dark, blank sky. no problem, there's always the next winter solstice lunar eclipse... moron.
Larry Works
Mon, Dec 20, 2010 : 10:30 p.m.
Though a pale second, here's a Nasa blog post with a list of links offering live webcam views of the lunar eclipse. http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Watch%20the%20Skies/posts/post_1292895242067.html
Soothslayer
Mon, Dec 20, 2010 : 8:37 p.m.
With the clear skies leaving a few hours ago in the wake of the snow now on its way this will be a non event for a good portion of the midwest.
braggslaw
Mon, Dec 20, 2010 : 6:04 p.m.
My kids are excited. I am going to wake them up to see at least part of the eclipse
Angela
Mon, Dec 20, 2010 : 1:45 p.m.
Hopefully there will be some breaks in the clouds tonight. I have been looking forward to this for a while. Be sure that you dress warm and perhaps go in to warm up occasionally!