Midnight Delight: Total Lunar Eclipse

The Moon and the Earth accept a actual appropriate accord in the Cosmos. The Moon is abutting abundant to us to tug our oceans into flat swells, and even to accomplish you (very slightly) lighter if it's overhead. You can even "touch" the Moon, electromagnetically, by aiming a flashlight at it and acute the button: about a additional afterwards you do, the photons you barrage physically acquaintance the clay and bedrock on the Moon's credible (and the way a flashlight axle spreads out, you don't even charge acceptable aim). And of advance the Moon is the alone abode in the Universe we've alone visited.
One of the a lot of arresting and admirable examples of the Earth-Moon accord takes abode during a absolute lunar eclipse, if the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow, transforming in a brace of hours from the abrupt accuracy of the Abounding Moon to the aphotic ruby-hued admiration of "umbral occlusion"or totality.
Monday evening, December 20th, starting at about 9:30 PM, the Moon will activate to access the Earth's partial, or "penumbral," shadow. About 10:30, it begins to access the adumbration (full shadow), and by 11:40 will be absolutely engulfed: "totality." Accumulation will endure until 12:53 AM Tuesday morning, if the Moon begins to leave the umbra.

While the continued acclimate anticipation at the moment doesn't attending favorable for the SF Bay Area, there are consistently aberration changes in acclimate to achievement for. Also, we'll be accepting a Lunar Concealment anniversary at Chabot Space & Science Center, rain or moonshine, which will be a lot of fun: Lunar Labs, planetarium shows, sci-fi cine reels, and every Moon-related song we could find—hope to see you there!
Though a absolute lunar concealment is a attenuate accident to see, this one is rarer still--not the atomic acumen getting that for the Western US it will be one of the accomplished lunar eclipses you can see, with the Moon extensive its acme for the night over 75 degrees from the border (practically overhead) abutting to mid-totality. For our latitudes in the Bay Area, the Moon can't get abundant college than that. So, we get High Moon if the concealment is at its best (weather permitting).
What makes this concealment attenuate a part of the attenuate is the actuality that the Moon is bridge several important appearance in the sky simultaneously. First, it's bridge the Ecliptic, the aisle of the Sun's credible motion over the advance of a year, acid through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. In essence, the Ecliptic is the bump of Earth's alternate even assimilate the sky. Is it a accompaniment that the Moon will be bridge the Ecliptic during this eclipse? Actually not at all. By advantage of the geometry of a lunar eclipse, the Moon accept to be on the Ecliptic in adjustment to canyon through Earth's shadow, back the Earth's shadow, casting by the Sun's light, consistently runs forth Earth's alternate plane, and so too the Ecliptic.
Another band is beyond during this concealment because it happens on Winter Solstice. On this day, the Sun is amid in Sagittarius, and so the Earth's adumbration is casting against the adverse point on the sky, in Taurus. Halfway about the amphitheater of the Ecliptic from the Winter Acme point you acquisition the added acme point, the atom on the Ecliptic area the Sun is amid at Summer Solstice.
The Moon will aswell be bridge the Galactic Equator: the band apery the even of the Milky Way Galaxy. This alignment is a bit added actual than those with the Ecliptic and the Acme point back the Milky Way is a arresting sky feature”at atomic in areas not impacted by burghal ablaze pollution. If you reside in a abode area you can commonly see the Milky Way on a aphotic night, you accept an added admiration to curiosity at during this eclipse: if the ablaze Abounding Moon enters accumulation and goes dark, the attenuate ablaze of our galaxy will be revealed, with the Moon set like a darkling gem in a design bracelet.
Well, we can alone achievement for bright skies—but in either event, appear up to Chabot and bless with us this midnight delight....