by Katie Bowell, Curator of Cultural Interpretation
Partial lunar eclipse
I’m setting my alarm clock for 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to get up (as I’m still a firm believer that there’s only one 5:00 in the day, and it comes just before dinner), but if I can, I’m in for a treat. So are many of you, if you’re better at being an early riser than I am.
Early, early tomorrow morning, June 26, a partial lunar eclipse will happen when the moon passes through the southern portion of the Earth’s shadow. The best place to see this eclipse will be in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Sadly, Africa, parts of Europe, and even the eastern edge of New England won’t see anything, but out here in Colorado we’ll be able to see a “bite” taken out of the moon as the moon is setting at the end of the night.
The moon will slide into partial eclipse at 4:17 a.m. MST, and will be deepest in shadow at 5:39 a.m. MST as the moon sets in the southwest and the sun begins to rise. It’s sure to be a pretty sight – a partially eclipsed moon in the predawn twilight.
A bit of trivia for you: Lunar eclipses can only happen when the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned very closely. Hence, there’s always a full moon (when the moon is closest to the Earth) when there’s a lunar eclipse. The next full lunar eclipse will happen on December 21, 2010.
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