Dec 8, 2011

December 10th Lunar Eclipse


I took the above photo at last year's lunar eclipse, also in December.

For North America, the eclipse this weekend will happen as the Moon is setting and the Sun rising. The eclipse will begin around 4:45 in the morning, Pacific time, and will set while in full eclipse.

That part of the sky is tricky for me to see. There's a lava butte in my way. So, if the roads and weather permit, I'll have to get up and drive out to Pine Mountain and watch from Millican Valley ... if I want to use my telescope.

Will depend on the weather. Even if it's not snowing, it's going to be bitter. It's the last lunar eclipse until 2014, however, so I hope I do get to see it.

From NASA:

The Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the southern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 51 minutes. The Moon's path through Earth's shadows as well as a map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event are shown in Figure 6. The timings of the major eclipse phases are listed below.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins:   11:33:32 UT
   Partial Eclipse Begins:     12:45:42 UT
   Total Eclipse Begins:       14:06:16 UT
   Greatest Eclipse:           14:31:49 UT
   Total Eclipse Ends:         14:57:24 UT
   Partial Eclipse Ends:       16:17:58 UT
   Penumbral Eclipse Ends:     17:30:00 UT 
 
For more information see: NASA Eclipse Website 


In other stargazing news, I met up with a fellow star guide up at PMO last Friday night. You can read all about the account at www.mpaxauthor.com/blog/ There are photos I took. Moon images were takend with a new filter my wonderful video gal sent to me. And I finally got to see Orion. Woot!

40 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

7:45 for me on a Saturday probably won't happen...
Hope you get some cool photos.

Miranda Hardy said...

I'll have to make a point of watching for it. Hope you are able to see it.

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Mary:
Eclipses always seem so magical to us. As if someone in the Heavens is turning the lights out...!!

Tonja said...

Lucky for me, my little guy wakes up at 7:30 on Saturday mornings. We will go outside in our pj's and check it out. :)

A Beer for the Shower said...

That would be 5:45 for me... since I wake up at 5:30 every day on the weekends, it'll be so hard to drag myself out of bed at that time on a weekend... still may do it, though.

Angelina Rain said...

I love looking at the different photos you post. If you end up taking pictures of the new lunar eclipse, I would love to see those pictures.

Stay warm. :-)

Suze said...

I remember that eclipse. My mother and I sat out in her garden, talking and freezing, for an hour before. And then right as it began to happen, my dad joined us.

I love that memory.

Beautiful shot, M. I still say your work belongs in a compilation.

Budd said...

eclpipses are so cool.

M Pax said...

Where we have to go to see it -- I probably won't get any close up photos. I'd have to hike the telescope up the butte. Won't be able to do that by myself. I might ... depends.

But I hope Alex, Miranda, Angelina.

The sky is magical, Jane & Lance.

4 a.m. is a little early for me, Tonja and Beer. But I'll probably do it.

Last year's eclipse was easy, Suze. Just set up in the driveway. Wish I could do that this year.

They are cool, Budd.

Julie said...

I love the photo, how cool. I just love your moon photos. Hope you do get to enjoy the eclipse this weekend, and get some great shots.

Jay Noel said...

Wait. So to get a good photo, you have to "go up the butte."

(snicker)

I'm sorry. (snicker). I'm so immature.

But seriously, I saw the lunar eclipse last year, and it was so amazing! I hope we can see it here in St. Louis clearly too.

Michael Offutt, Expert Critic said...

I like the word "penumbral". Great picture of the moon.

LTM said...

the lovely moon. I'll be looking out for this--thanks, Mary~ :o) <3

Amanda Trought said...

I'd love to see it this year, this is a great photo, will check timing for UK, have a great weekend! Amanda

Rettakat said...

Oooh, sounds magical. Can't wait to see your photos. I'll be thinking of you from my warm cozy bed under my electric blankie. ;-)

Sammy Sutton Author said...

I love eclipses, hope you get to photograph this one!

Sammy :)

Lynda R Young said...

For me in Oz we're expected to see it at midnight on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it.

Belle said...

Thanks for letting us know. It is so cloudy here all winter that we may miss seeing it.

Li said...

Glad you got to see Orion :-))

Nancy Thompson said...

It'll be cloudy here is Seattle. No lunar eclipse for me.

I once saw a lunar eclipse, at least that's what I think it was. The moon was a dark orange and hung low in the sky. It was during the summer months probably in 1986 or 87 & I lived in the Bay Area. It was HUGE and look totally 3-D, like a giant ball in the sky. I felt like I could reach out and touch it. That was the weirdest thing. I'd love to see something like that again. Not bloody likely here in Seattle.

Christine Rains said...

Gorgeous moon. I can't wait to see your pictures!

The Golden Eagle said...

Great picture!

I'll be watching for this one . . . I've never really seen an eclipse, and I want to.

Lindsay said...

I'm down in Sydney and have heard it should be a good show here if the sky remains clear. It's been rainy all week, but sunny today, so here's hoping. :)

Jamie (Mithril Wisdom) said...

Hopefully I can catch it over in the UK too, though I'll need to work out the times :P

Maurice Mitchell said...

Thanks for this. I had no idea! Unfortunately, it will be happening at five in the morning. I'll probably miss it. :(

Mark Murata said...

I'm a little puzzled by your photo. I thought the moon looks a vivid reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse, because of the way the sun's rays refract through our atmosphere. For those of you who are not as familiar with it as M Pax, if you were standing on the moon during an eclipse, you would see the Earth as a dark circle with a red rim--the same color as a sunset.
I know I've seen the moon that color during a lunar eclipse, but perhaps I'm over-generalizing.

M Pax said...

Keeping my fingers crossed on the weather, Julie.

Yes, up the butte, Jay. :) It's actually a cinder cone.

I'll have to 'borrow' pics this year, Michael, Sammy, Christine & Loretta.

Jamie & Amanda, UT time should be the same as UK time.

You should have a great view in Ozland, Lynda and Lindsay. You should get to see the whole thing and at a reasonable hour. I'm quite jealous.

It's been unusually dry here, Belle. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Thank you, Li.

The large size & orange or reddish color comes from the Moon being low in the atmosphere. Moonrise and moonset can be colorful like sunrise and sunset, Nancy.

It is a beautiful thing, Eagle. There's a solar eclipse in early summer 2012. Not another lunar eclipse until 2014.

You must be on the west coast then, Maurice. I'll get up, then go back to bed. :)

Hi, Mark. The photo was taken before full eclipse and I had a filter on the telescope eyepiece to cut the glare, which may have effected the color. But we didn't have a lot of color at this location at that phase of the eclipse last year.

Ann said...

Oh how interesting. My son used to be so taken with this when he was younger. I must let him know about this.

Hope you get to see this wonderful site and get your photos.

M Pax said...

Thank you, Ann. I did get to see. It was awesome. Hope to see my friend's photos soon.

G said...

Another cloudy night in the UK...when ever there is an interesting astronomical event to see...we get cloud - Time to emigrate I think :)

Arlee Bird said...

Doggone it! I didn't hear about this until after it happened. And I was up at that time too. Maybe I couldn't sleep because of the eclipse. Naw--I usually get up about that time anyway. Wish I could sleep later sometimes.


Lee
Wrote By Rote

Danette said...

Damn! I should have stopped by sooner (it's been a crazy week!). I would have loved to see that! The fool moon was amazing this evening though- it should have occurred at Christmas. I could just imagine sleighing past the full moon on the horizon! Great pic!!

M Pax said...

G, such was the case when we lived in Portland. Always cloudy.

Sorry you missed it, Arlee and Danette. I'll be posting photos on the website on Tuesday.

Romance Reader said...

Missed it. It was raining and we all missed seeing this lunar eclipse. Looking forward to your photos.

Libby said...

I feel like a failure as a nerd, I found out about the lunar eclipse well after it happened.

Nas Dean said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nas Dean said...

Lovely photos, Mary. I just saw...

Pat Tillett said...

Can't wait to see your photos! Hope there are no clouds in your way...

Laila Knight said...

Darn it, I can't believe I showed up late to this post. I've been so crazy-busy. I do so love your lunar pics. :)

Ella said...

I love eclipses..I look forward to your pics!