Elizabeth August 27th, 2007

AS A sky show, it has kept Australian star-gazers waiting for seven years.

A spectacular total lunar eclipse will be visible across the country tomorrow at full moon, when the sun, Earth and moon are in perfect alignment.

The Earth casts a shadow across the moon and blocks out the sunlight, causing the moon to become dark, almost disappearing.

Although it is a total eclipse, the moon will not completely black out. Some sunlight will reach it, bent by the Earth’s atmosphere.

If the atmosphere is dusty, the moon could appear blood-red, as the dust particles filter out some of the green, blue and violet rays in sunlight. Melbourne Planetarium astronomer Tanya Hill said the eclipse was “a lovely thing” to watch. “It’s like a big bite being take out of the moon,” she said.

The partial phase of the eclipse begins just before 7pm. During this time, the Earth’s shadow is curved, one of the ancients’ first clues the planet was spherical. The total lunar eclipse will be from 7.52pm to 9.22pm.

After this, the moon will slowly emerge from Earth’s shadow.

Read the rest at The Age.

If I can find a dark (and safe) enough place to hang out tomorrow, I might try taking some photos. Either way, it’s worth looking up.

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