Here we are less than 365 days until the total solar eclipse that will be seen from coast-to-coast in the U.S. on August 21, 2017. This will be the first total solar eclipse to grace the U.S. mainland since 1979 and the first to sweep across the entire country since 1918!
animated map of the Moon’s shadows across Earth
Before I go any further I want to say to all those reading this article who have never witnessed a total solar eclipse – please, please make every effort to get to the center line next summer and experience totality. Nothing compares to it. No words can adequately explain the awesome spectacle, the emotional response generated and grandeur of a total solar eclipse. You simply must experience it at least once in your lifetime.
Get ready sky sleuths for an amazing lunar spectacle! A total lunar eclipse is coming up (weather permitting) after dark on Sunday, September 27th when the moon will turn an awesome reddish-orange as it enters the Earth’s umbra. The eclipse will be visible from most of North and South America.
Total Lunar Eclipse
Total lunar eclipses always happen at full moon. This is when the Moon is opposite in the sky as the Sun or put another way when the Earth is between the Sun and Moon. This situation allows for the Earth’s shadow to consume the Moon, and we see an eclipse.
I’ve posted a series of images taken of the partial solar eclipse of 10/23/2014 on the site. You’ll find them under Astrophotography > Eclipses. I used a 90mm Meade ETX equipped with a solar filter and Nikon D60 to shoot these images.
Thursday, October 23, 2014 there will be a partial solar eclipse visible for much of North America including the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. A partial solar eclipse involves the Moon covering up only part of the Sun as seen from your location. As the central part of the Moon’s shadow (umbra) misses the Earth during a partial solar eclipse, there are no other locations on Earth where the Sun appears completely covered during this event.
Maximum Eclipse as seen from Fort Worth, Texas
This will be a late afternoon event for us here in DFW. In fact the sun will set during the partial eclipse. Here are some important eclipse milestones for the DFW area on October 23, 2014.
Early on the morning of Wednesday, October 8, 2014 there will be a total lunar eclipse visible for all of the United States. Totality begins at 5:25 a.m. CDT locally here in the DFW area. The moon will be seen (weather permitting) low in the sky on the western horizon. Seek out a good observing location where you will have an unobstructed view of the horizon. The Moon will be an awesome sight even from the most light polluted cities. Observers on the West Coast are better positioned for this eclipse as the moon will be higher in the sky as totality slowly plays out between 3:25 a.m. and 4:24 a.m. PDT.
This month Mars is at opposition (opposite the sun in the sky as seen from Earth). This means our planet is closer to Mars and thus Mars is brighter (-1.5 mag) in our sky, well placed for telescopic observation and generally a lot more interesting to view. Here are some keys dates. On April 8, 2014 Mars will be at opposition (distance to earth: 0.621 AU, brightness: -1.5 mag, diameter: 15.08″). On April 14, 2014 Mars makes its closest approach to Earth (distance to earth: 0.618 AU, brightness: -1.4 mag, diameter: 15.16″). This will be a great time to get out and observe the red planet through a telescope, it’s polar ice caps and light and dark regions, and also how the planet changes over time. It’s not uncommon for dust storms to occur and totally change how we see the planet.
Moon and Mars in Virgo early on the morning of 4/15/2014.
The May 25th penumbral lunar eclipse will be practically imperceptible for creatures viewing from Earth. Most folks won’t even bother to try to see this eclipse and hardcore amateurs with telescopes will probably scoff at the idea of unpacking and setting up their telescopes for this event. That still doesn’t change the fact that however slight the moon’s grazing of the Earth’s penumbral shadow, and this one is about as scant as they get, it still technically counts as an eclipse.
So why is this such a non-event? Well there are three parts that make up a bodies shadow. The penumbra, the umbra and the antumbra. The penumbra is the weak or pale part of an object’s shadow, in this case the Earth’s shadow. From within the penumbra, the Moon is only slightly cast in shadow as in the case of a partial eclipse. This contrasts with the umbra, where the Moon is completely within the Earth’s shadow which sometimes results in a total eclipse. If it’s a total solar eclipse then the Moon’s shadow is cast on the Earth. On the other hand if it’s a total lunar eclipse the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, and more specifically, the Earth’s umbra. You can think of the umbra as a cone getting smaller as it retreats from an object. The antumbra is that portion of the shadow past where the umbra’s cone of influence ceases. If you’ve seen an annular eclipse you’ve witnessed the antumbra first hand.
So what we have on May 25th is the Moon ever so slightly creeping into the Earth’s penumbra. The partial eclipse begins at 10:53 p.m. CDT and lasts 33 minutes and 45 seconds, the big non-event will be visible (or not) for all in North America.
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