Astroblog: Don't Forget, Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday October 8, 2014

Monday, October 06, 2014

Don't Forget, Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday October 8, 2014

Eastern horizon as seen from Adelaide on 8 October at 8:30 pm ACDST . The Lunar Eclipse is at maximum depth. Click to embiggen.

Just in case you have forgotten, on the evening of Wednesday, 8 October (that's this coming Wednesday) there is a total eclipse of the Moon in the early evening as seen from Australia.

Viewing charts, eclipse start and maximum eclipse times for a number of Australian and two New Zealand cities are here. A printable chart with timings and eclipse activity suggestions for kids is here.

Some helpful hints on viewing and photographing the eclipse are here. Keep a lookout for satellites, from Adelaide there is an iridium flare around the time of maximum eclipse. Satellite predictions can be found at Heavens Above.

Remember, you need nothing more fancy than your own eyes to watch (and it is perfectly safe). Even if it is cloudy (unless totally socked in and raining) you should be able to see something nice through the clouds. For an account of a cloudy eclipse see here. Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

If it is clouded out, there will be livestreams from the Sydney Observatory, the Virtual Telescope and Slooh.

You can set up an Eclipse Party, or head off to one of the observatories or planetariums hosting events.

This Lunar Eclipse is part of a eclipse tetrad, despite rumours on the internet, this is not the end of days (as if).

Labels: eclipse, Moon, public outreach, Satellite