Lunar Eclipses

Live webcast of Lunar Eclipse Dec 10, 2011

2011-12-10T01:37:00.001-08:00

Last Lunar Eclipse of 2011 - Dec. 10th

2011-12-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

December 10th 2011

Year 2011 end brings us another spectacle in astronomy – Total Lunar Eclipse on 10th December! The last eclipse of the year will once again be putting a show just before the year ends and next year comes with the rarest of rare astronomical events – Venus transit. It will be visible from all of Asia and Australia, seen as rising over eastern Europe, and setting over northwest North America. In the Philippines, the lunar eclipse is seen visible just after sunset.

Eclipse Background:

What is an eclipse of the Moon? What causes eclipses and why? How often do eclipses happen and when is the next eclipse of the Moon?

We live in a world that seems so ordered; the Sun rises, goes across the sky and then sets. The Moon goes through its phases from new to full and back again. It all seems like clockwork, and then, something unusual happens that seems to throw the orderly timing of the cosmos into chaos. On a night when the moon rises full and beautiful, it starts to change; at first it is so subtle few notice it. But then, every so slowly, the moon begins to dim, and more alarming yet, it disappears.

One can only imagine how frightening the sight of a lunar eclipse must have been for our ancestors. Far more than us, they were in tune with the rhythms of the cosmos, the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets were the motions these people lived by. They told time by the daily passing of the Sun, or full moon to full moon gauged longer periods of time. And the very stars marked the passing of seasons. The skies were orderly and dependable, except for when an eclipse happened. During that time, chaos reigned, and our ancestors prayed and begged for the Moon to be returned to the sky.

Eclipse Myths:

Myths die hard. In Japan, some people still cover wells to avoid being poisoned by the disease of the moon during an eclipse. Native residents of Arctic regions are known to turn over their utensils to avoid contamination. In other cultures, people yell at the moon during an eclipse, or they bang pots or even shoot into the air. In India people take bath in holy rivers to wave off the evil effect of the eclipse.

Historical aspects:

Primitive ideas about the figure of the Earth, still found in young children, hold the Earth to be flat and the heavens a physical dome spanning over it. Lunar eclipses, e.g., always have a circular edge of appox. three times the radius of the lunar disc; as these always happen when the Earth is between Sun and Moon, it suggests that the object casting the shadow is the Earth and must be spherical (and four times the size of the Moon, the lunar and solar discs being the same size).

Our ancestors saw eclipses as evil omens, often as portents of some catastrophic event or a sign from their deities. The earliest recorded eclipse was in China on October 22, 2134 BC. The two court astrologers to the Emporer lost their heads because; they had failed to predict it. The Babylonians were the first to calculate the regular intervals at which eclipses occur. Thales of Miletus predicted a solar eclipse that marked the beginning of the Greek scientific/philosophic era. Word eclipse comes from a Greek word, “ekleipsis” meaning abandonment.

When the moon disappeared in 413 B.C., Athenians saw it as a bad omen and delayed their planned retreat from the Sicilian city of Syracuse, where they had fought for two years in the Peloponnesian War. The Syracusans used the delay as an opportunity to break the siege, contributing — some believe — to the fall of Greek civilization.

Christopher Columbus actually used an eclipse knowingly to perhaps alter history. Stranded in Jamaica in 1504, on his fourth voyage, Columbus and his crew were wearing out their welcome with the natives, who were feeding them. Columbus knew a lunar eclipse was coming, so he "predicted" the moon’s disappearance. The natives begged him to bring it back and, of course, he did, in due time.

Types of Lunar Eclipses

An eclipse of the moon occurs when the earth is in a direct line between the sun and the moon. The moon does not have any light of its own; instead, it reflects the sun's light. During a lunar eclipse, the moon is in the earth's shadow. It will often look dim and sometimes copper or orange in color. The lighter part of Earth's shadow is call the "penumbra" and the totally dark part is called the "umbra". If you see a chart that says the lunar eclipse is going to be penumbral, this means that the Moon will only pass through the lighter part of Earth's shadow. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon passes through the umbra, or darkest part, of Earth's shadow. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when moon passes through penumbra, the lighter part of the shadow

Why lunar eclipses don't occur every month:

Since lunar eclipses occur always at full moon, it makes sense to ask why each full moon does not generate one. Eclipses are relatively rare because the plane in which the moon orbits around Earth is tilted 5 degrees compared to the plane of Earth's travels around the sun, a plane that astronomers call the ecliptic.

To visualize, think of two hula hoops — one big and one small — floating on the surface of a pool, and push the inner one down so that half of it is below the surface and half above. When the moon gets into the ecliptic — right at the surface of the pool — during its full phase, then a lunar eclipse occurs. (The word "ecliptic" stems from the word "eclipse.")

The geometry of any eclipse — the relative positions of the sun, Earth and moon — is eventually repeated during a set of complex cycles that each last just more than 18 years. This Saros cycle, as the whole thing is called, is behind the bunching of eclipses, too. Astronomers have figured it out and can predict eclipse timing and circumstances far into future.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ECLIPSE

	Universal Time	Indian Standard Time

Moon enters penumbra Moon enters umbra Moon enters totality Middle of the eclipse # Moon leaves totality Moon leaves umbra Moon leaves penumbra	11h 31.8m 12h 45.4 m 14h 05.7m 14h 31.8m 14h 58.0m 16h 18.3m 17h 31.7m	17h 01.8m 18h 15.4 m 19h 35.7m 20h 01.8m 20h 28.0m 21h 48.3m 23h 01.7m

Moon will rise in eclipse in delhi

Visibility of the Eclipse

Key to Eclipse Visibility Map

P1 Penumbral eclipse begins (not visible to the eye)

U1 Partial eclipse begins

U2 Total eclipse begins

U3 Total eclipse ends

U4 Partial eclipse ends

P4 Penumbral eclipse ends (not visible to the eye)

Area of visibility: The eclipse will be visible in the region covering Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, North America, Greenland, and the Indian, Pacific, and Artic Ocean. The places from where the beginning of the umbral phase is visible at the time of moonset are parts of Mexico, eastern U.S.A., eastern Canada and Greeland. The places from where the ending of the umbral phase is visible at the time of moonrise are parts of Europe, Africa and some regions of Southern Ocean.

Lunar eclipse trails

2011-06-17T00:50:00.001-07:00

june 15th, 2011 Lunar eclipse trails and clouds

Animation of the june 15th eclipse

2011-06-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

Predictions for lunar occulttations during the june 15th lunar eclipse for delhi

2011-05-23T03:08:00.000-07:00

Jun 15 18 33 12 r X221437 11.2 89E 179 37 176 -36N 283

Jun 15 18 36 9 d X221530 11.5 85E 179 37 176 85U 82

Jun 15 18 36 27 d X221512 11.6 84E 179 38 176 77N 35

Jun 15 18 48 25 r X221461 11.4 62E 179 38 180 -4N 313

Jun 15 18 48 29 r X221472 11.7 62E 179 37 180 -70S 206

Jun 15 18 49 51 D 185487 K2 10.0 9.2 59E 179 37 180 68U 86

Jun 15 18 52 9 R 185460cG5 9.8 9.2 54E 179 37 181 -47N 269

Jun 15 18 56 44 d X221538 11.5 44E 179 38 182 79U 40

Jun 15 18 58 27 r X221459 10.9 41E 179 37 183 -41N 274

Jun 15 18 59 20 d X142716 11.4 11.2 39E 179 38 183 71U 49

Jun 15 19 3 5 r X221464 11.8 31E 179 37 185 -26N 288

Jun 15 19 4 43 R 185466 F2 7.4 7.2s 28E 179 37 185 0N 314

Jun 15 19 4 49 d X142755 11.1 10.7 27E 179 37 184 49U 104

Jun 15 19 11 35 m X221527 11.7 14E 179 37 186 81U 174

Jun 15 19 12 5 r X221486 11.0 13E 179 37 187 2N 314

Jun 15 19 12 40 r X221487 11.3 12E 179 37 187 103U 225

Jun 15 19 21 5 d X142788 11.2 11.0 0E 179 37 189 29U 101

Jun 15 19 21 47 d X142779 11.6 11.0 0E 179 37 189 33U 117

Jun 15 19 23 21 m X221529 11.8 0E 179 37 190 83U 354

Jun 15 19 23 25 D 185497 F2 9.6 9.2 0E 179 37 190 31U 118

Jun 15 19 29 21 r X142606 11.2 9.6 0E 179 36 192 85U 231

Jun 15 19 29 32 d X142796 11.1 10.8 0E 179 37 191 23U 117

Jun 15 19 29 59 D 185501 G3 8.6 8.2 0E 179 37 191 18U 103

Jun 15 19 32 43 D X142802 10.2 9.4 0E 179 36 192 20U 119

Jun 15 19 33 0 D 185505 K0 9.6 9.0 0E 179 37 192 18U 84

Jun 15 19 34 32 r X221512 11.6 0E 179 37 193 82U 314

Jun 15 19 34 50 D X142790 10.9 10.5 0E 179 37 193 41U 44

Jun 15 19 35 57 r X142608 11.7 11.4 0E 179 36 194 83U 294

Jun 15 19 36 21 r X221500 11.6 0E 179 36 194 83U 287

Jun 15 19 38 55 R 2523 A0 4.8 4.8s 0E 179 36 194 80U 279

R2523 = 51 Ophiuchi

Jun 15 19 44 20 r X221516 11.6 0E 179 36 196 73U 298

Jun 15 19 50 31 d X142848 11.5 11.4 0E 179 36 197 31U 55

Jun 15 19 54 33 d X221637 11.5 0E 179 35 198 13U 105

Jun 15 20 1 10 r X221538 11.5 0E 179 35 200 55U 306

Jun 15 20 4 43 r X221530 11.5 0E 179 34 201 48U 265

Jun 15 20 12 30 r X142716 11.4 11.2 0E 179 34 203 44U 296

Jun 15 20 17 40 R 185487 K2 10.0 9.2 0E 179 33 204 31U 260

Jun 15 20 26 2 r X142755 11.1 10.7 0E 179 32 206 17U 241

Jun 15 20 26 42 d X221686 11.2 0E 179 33 206 58U 58

Jun 15 20 26 53 d X142970 11.3 11.0 0E 179 33 206 57U 72

Jun 15 20 28 51 d X142961 11.9 11.6 0E 179 32 206 51U 123

Jun 15 20 31 43 d X221693 11.7 0E 179 32 207 63U 56

Jun 15 20 32 4 r X142779 11.6 11.0 0E 179 32 208 13U 226

Jun 15 20 32 58 R 185497 F2 9.6 9.2 0E 179 32 208 13U 225

Jun 15 20 33 57 d X221667 11.7 0E 179 32 208 62U 27

Jun 15 20 37 36 d X221687 11.6 0E 179 32 209 67U 36

Jun 15 20 39 17 r X142796 11.1 10.8 0E 179 31 209 14U 225

Jun 15 20 40 37 R X142802 10.2 9.4 0E 179 31 210 16U 223

Jun 15 20 42 6 r X142788 11.2 11.0 0E 179 31 210 6U 242

Jun 15 20 43 8 R X142790 10.9 10.5 0E 179 31 210 31U 298

Jun 15 20 48 4 d X221718 11.4 0E 179 31 211 82U 73

Jun 15 20 48 38 D 185529 A3 10.3 10.0 0E 179 31 211 82U 59

Jun 15 20 49 12 R 185501 G3 8.6 8.2 0E 179 30 212 14U 239

Jun 15 20 49 17 m X221647 11.7 0E 179 31 212 66U 349

Jun 15 20 49 57 d X143050 10.9 9.9 0E 179 30 211 85U 80

Jun 15 20 52 4 d X221713 11.5 0E 179 30 212 86U 54

Jun 15 20 52 59 d X143052 11.7 10.3 0E 179 30 212 84U 112

Jun 15 20 53 1 m X221681 11.7 0E 179 30 212 61U 169

Jun 15 20 57 47 R 185505 K0 9.6 9.0 0E 179 29 214 21U 258

Jun 15 21 6 20 r X142848 11.5 11.4 3E 179 28 216 39U 285

Jun 15 21 10 10 r X221637 11.5 8E 179 28 216 41U 235

Jun 15 21 14 30 m X221692 11.1 16E 179 28 217 88U 348

Jun 15 21 19 14 d X143106 11.8 11.4 25E 179 27 218 39N 44

Jun 15 21 19 15 d X143136 11.5 11.3 25E 179 27 218 13N 69

Jun 15 21 23 34 r X221667 11.7 34E 179 26 219 72U 311

Jun 15 21 23 40 D 185530 K1 9.0 8.2 34E 179 26 219 78N 2

Jun 15 21 26 3 D 185546 A5 10.3 10.1 39E 179 26 219 17N 61

Jun 15 21 26 9 r X142961 11.9 11.6 39E 179 26 219 72U 214

Jun 15 21 32 24 d X143176 11.5 10.8 53E 179 25 220 -20N 94

Jun 15 21 36 22 r X221687 11.6 61E 179 24 222 81U 301

Jun 15 21 36 25 d X221795 11.5 61E 179 25 221 -23N 95

Jun 15 21 36 26 D X221791 10.4 61E 179 24 221 -43N 115

Jun 15 21 37 30 d X143184 11.4 10.7 63E 179 24 221 7N 64

Jun 15 21 37 52 d X221794 11.7 64E 179 24 221 -43N 114

Jun 15 21 40 19 d X143206 11.2 10.4 69E 179 24 222 -33N 102

Jun 15 21 40 41 D X 42589 G 10.5 10.1 70E 179 24 222 47N 22

Jun 15 21 41 13 r X221686 11.2 71E 179 24 222 77U 280

Jun 15 21 42 10 R 185530 K1 9.0 8.2 73E 179 24 223 86S 334

Jun 15 21 43 17 m X143124 10.9 10.3 75E 179 23 222 -80S 167

Jun 15 21 43 37 d X143217 11.1 10.5 75E 179 24 222 -16N 83

Jun 15 21 44 43 r X221693 11.7 77E 179 23 223 82U 281

Jun 15 21 45 22 m X143074 10.9 9.9 78E 179 23 223 78N 348

Jun 15 21 45 53 r X142970 11.3 11.0 79E 179 23 223 80U 266

Jun 15 21 47 41 d X221814 11.4 83E 179 23 223 -37N 101

Jun 15 21 52 2 D X 42623 A2 10.9 10.8 89E 179 22 224 6N 56

Item	Meaning
Day	The day of the event. Occult searches for events on the basis of geocentric conjunctions that occur within a 24hr - with that period starting at the UT indicated in the date selection box. Users should ensure that the period starts near the middle of their day.
Time	The predicted UTC, in hours, mins and secs.
P	The Phase of the event. Values are: D - disappearance d - disappearance, but star is less than 1 mag brighter than the predicted visibility limit. R - reappearance r - reappearance, but star is less than 1 mag brighter than the predicted visibility limit. Gr - grazing occultation at site. At mid-occultation, or closest approach, the star is less than 4" from the limb of the moon (either above or below). gr - grazing occultation at site, but star is less than 1 mag brighter than the predicted visibility limit. M - miss. At closest approach, the star is more than 4" above the limb of the moon m - miss, but star is less than 1 mag brighter than the predicted visibility limit.
Star	The star identifier. Three formats are used: nnnn - A ZC star. When reporting occultations, the catalogue is identified with 'R'. nnnnn, or nnnnnn - An SAO star. When reporting occultations, the catalogue is identified with 'R'. X nnnnnn - an XZ star. When reporting occultations, the catalogue is identified with 'X'.
D	The double star code
Sp	Star's spectral type. Only basic spectral type information is provided
Mag v	The star's visual magnitude
Mag r	The star's red magnitude. For observers using CCD video cameras, the red magnitude provides a better indication of visibility.
D	The variable star code
% ill	the percent illumination of the moon. If followed by a +, values are for a waxing moon; - for a waning moon; and E for illumination during a lunar eclipse.
Elon	the elongation of the moon from the sun, in degrees. [Strictly, the quantity is calculated as the elongation of the star from the sun]
Sun Alt	the altitude of the sun. The field is blank if the sun is lower than -12 deg. (Nautical twilight)
Moon Alt	the altitude of the moon
Moon Az	the azimuth of the moon
CA	Cusp Angle - the angle of the event around the limb of the moon, measured from the nearest cusp. -'ve values indicate a bright limb event. The cusps are usually N (north) or S (south), but near full moon can be E (East) or W (west). If a lunar eclipse is in progress, CA gives is the % distance from the centre of the umbra, and is followed by a 'U'. Values up to 103% are possible. Where an event occurs more than 103% of the umbral radius, the usual Cusp Angle value is displayed.
PA	Position Angle - the angle of the event around the limb of the moon, measured from true north

How to estimate Danjon Scale of Brightness

2011-05-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

Lunar eclipses get their colorful red-orange hues from sunlight that is filtered and bent by the Earth's atmosphere around into its shadow. This is the light of all the world's sunrises and sunsets ringing the globe at the time. Bright and colorful eclipses occur when our planet’s upper atmosphere is most transparent. Major volcanic eruptions spew dust and aerosols into the stratosphere, resulting in darker lunar eclipses.
The Moon's brightness varies greatly from eclipse to eclipse, which would tell a lot about the state of the Earth's upper atmosphere if only we understood it better. To help in compiling statistics of this kind, many observers rank each eclipse they see on the five-point Danjon Scale.

Danjon Scale of Brightness

0 Very dark eclipse, Moon almost invisible, especially at midtotality.

1 Dark eclipse, gray or brownish coloration; details distinguishable only with difficulty.

2 Deep red or rust-colored eclipse, with a very dark central part in the umbra and the outer rim of the umbra relatively bright.

3 Brick-red eclipse, usually with a bright or yellow rim to the umbra.

4 Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse,with a bluish, very bright umbral rim.

An even simpler technique was advocated 80 years ago by Harvard astronomer Willard Fisher, who graded mid-totality into three classes depending on the equipment needed to see details on the Moon's surface: (1) the naked eye, (2) a 50-millimeter finderscope or binoculars at 7x, or (3) a 150-mm (6-inch) telescope at about 20x. Fisher reasoned that the Moon's surface brightness is unaltered by the aperture, but the visibility of low-contrast features like lunar maria depends greatly on the image scale. The darker the eclipse, the greater the aperture (and power) needed.

Still another useful gauge is the Moon's stellar magnitude at mideclipse. People who wear thick eyeglasses can simply take them off, turning the Moon and bright stars or planets into blobs of about equal size for easier comparison. Looking through the wrong end of binoculars also works.

courtesy sky and telescope

2011-05-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Useful Projects for a Lunar Eclipse

Amateur astronomers often plan how they'll take photographs, image sequences, or even time-lapse videos of a lunar eclipse. But don't overlook the scientifically useful projects that are just begging to be carried out. You don't need anything but clear skies and some very simple equipment.

Color

Total lunar eclipses come in a great variety of brightnesses and hues. In February 1860, Irish amateur Mary Ward likened the Moon to "a red-hot penny" in the sky. But the famously dark eclipse of December 1963 was so dim that some skywatchers could not find the Moon when they stepped outdoors near mid-totality!

To help in comparing reports from various observers, even years and cultures apart, French astronomer André Danjon devised a five-point scale that is still used today. To learn how to give this eclipse a Danjon L rating, read the article about it in this blog.

Brightness

For many years Brazilian astronomer Helio C. Vital has led a very active group of observers in monitoring the brightness of the eclipsed Moon, not only as it moves across the shadow but also from one eclipse to the next. For example, he's found that a total eclipse is fairly bright if it takes place when Earth's atmosphere is nearly free of aerosols. But within a few years after a major volcanic eruption, eclipses are often much darker. Some darkening was even detected after the October 6, 2006, eruption of Mount Rabaul in Papua New Guinea.

So how do you make an estimate? If you wear thick glasses you can try taking them off so the Moon and bright planets or stars look like equal-size blobs. Looking through the wrong end of binoculars also helps.

Size of the Umbra

Timings of celestial events offered early mariners a way to find their longitude far from home. This method was used by Christopher Columbus, who timed the start and end of a lunar eclipse in 1504 during his fourth trip to the New World. When astronomers tried to refine this method, however, they quickly found that the dark center of the Earth's shadow, called the umbra, was larger than pure geometry indicated by about 2%, because our atmospheric sheath adds to Earth's effective diameter.

To time when the Moon's edge enters or leaves the shadow is often iffy. Instead, it's more accurate to time when individual spots and craters cross the shadow's edge. For example, from 697 crater timings sent in by Sky & Telescope readers, I derived an enlargement of 2.1% for the July 1982 eclipse. But for a similar event only six months later, 298 timings gave 1.7% enlargement. In each case the probable error was less than 0.1%. So the enlargement definitely varies slightly from eclipse to eclipse, for reasons not yet understood.

The Moon photo above has prominent features labeled on it, and you can click here for our predictions of their entrance and exit times in the umbra. Before making your timings, set a watch to accurate radio time signals. Write down the time (to the nearest 5 seconds) when the edge of the umbra crosses the center of the crater or other feature. It's as simple as that! (The shadow edge is a little fuzzy, so try to judge the point where light is falling off most rapidly and adopt that for your timings. Use a 2.4-inch or larger scope.)

If you carry out any of these simple projects at the next eclipse of the Moon, please e-mail the results to us for later analysis.

But no matter what you do, set aside a little time to sit back and enjoy the eclipse, too!

courtesy - sky and telescope

2011-05-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

Total eclipse of the MOON, June 15, 2011 A.D.; Wednesday

The eclipse will be visible in INDIA

Area of visibility: The eclipse will be visible in the region covering South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Antarctica and Atlantic, India and southwestern Pacific Ocean.

The places from where the beginning of the umbral phase is visible at the time of moonset are some regions of South Pacific Ocean, Fiji, some region of North Pacific Ocean and parts of north-eastern Russia.

The places from where the ending of umbral phase is visible at the time of moonrise are some regions of South Pacific Ocean, parts of western Chile, Bolivia, parts of North West Brazil, some region of North Atlantic Ocean.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ECLIPSE

	Indian Standard Time
	Indian Standard Time
Moon enters penumbra Moon enters umbra Moon enters totality Middle of the eclipse # Moon leaves totality Moon leaves umbra Moon leaves penumbra	15d 22h 53.1m 15d 23h 52.6m 16d 00h 52.1m 16d 01h 42.6m 16d 02h 33.0m 16d 03h 32.6m 16d 04h 32.2m

* Magnitude of the eclipse = 1.705

2010-12-18T01:09:00.000-08:00

eclipse just about to end

2010-01-02T03:38:00.000-08:00

collage of the lunar eclipse images take by SPACE

2009-12-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Check the videos of Live lunar eclipse webcast on 31st dec, 2009

How to photograph the lunar eclipse?

2009-12-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

Click the link below to read about various methods to photograph the lunar eclipse.

How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse

Partial Eclipse 31 Dec, 2009

2009-12-27T23:27:00.001-08:00

The beginning, the middle and the ending of the eclipse will be visible from all parts of India.The eclipse will be visible in the region covering Alaska, Australia, Indonesia, Asia, Africa, Europe including the British Isles and the Arctic regions.The beginning of the umbral phase will be visible from the extreme south-eastern part of Australia, middle of South and North Pacific Ocean and extreme Solomon Island. The ending of the umbral phase will be visible from North and South Atlantic Ocean and Greenland. ECa will be doing a live webcast of the event. For further details and updates, keep on checking the website.

Courtesy: www.shadowandsubstance.com

Event

Moon enters penumbra 31 dec 22h 45.3m
Moon enters umbra 01 jan 0h 21.7m
Middle of the eclipse 01 jan 0h 52.7m
Moon leaves umbra 01 jan 1h 23.6m
Moon leaves penumbra 01 jan 3h 00.0m

all times are in IST