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The moon's a balloon: total lunar eclipse on December 10, 2011

A total lunar eclipse takes place on the evening of Saturday, December 10, when the Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the southern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 51 minutes. The Moon will pass through Earth's shadow. The timings of the major eclipse phases are listed below.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 11:33:32 UT

Partial Eclipse Begins: 12:45:42 UT

Total Eclipse Begins: 14:06:16 UT

Greatest Eclipse: 14:31:49 UT

Total Eclipse Ends: 14:57:24 UT

Partial Eclipse Ends: 16:17:58 UT

Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 17:30:00 UT

• Penumbral eclipse begins – The outer, light penumbral shadow begins to cover the moon. This phase of the eclipse is subtle. Some people say they can’t tell it’s happening, even while looking right at it. It looks like a dusky shading moving across the moon’s face. For the next hour or two, gradually more and more of the moon will be in shadow.

• Partial eclipse begins – The inner, dark umbral shadow begins to cover the moon. Like the penumbral shadow, it starts on one side and slowly creeps across the moon’s face. It looks like a dark bite taken out of the moon.

• Total eclipse begins – The dark shadow completely covers the moon. This is the total phase of the eclipse, called the totality. It generally lasts for the better part of an hour. During the totality, the shadow on the moon often appears red. It is very beautiful!

• Greatest eclipse – The middle of the eclipse. The totality is still going on.

• Total eclipse ends – The inner, dark umbral shadow begins to leave the moon’s face. A sliver of light appears on one edge of the moon. For the next hour or two, gradually less and less of the moon will be in shadow.

• Partial eclipse ends – The inner, dark umbral shadow leaves the moon.

• Penumbral eclipse ends – the light, outer penumbral shadow leaves the moon. The eclipse is over. (http://earthsky.org)

At the instant of greatest eclipse (14:32 UT) the Moon lies at the zenith in the Pacific Ocean near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The entire event is visible from Asia and Australia. Observers throughout Europe and Africa will miss the early eclipse phases because they occur before moonrise. None of the eclipse can be seen from South America or Antarctica.

During a lunar eclipse sunlight can filter through Earth’s atmosphere onto the shadow on the moon. This filtered sunlight makes the moon appear red during a total eclipse. But red isn’t the only colour of a totally eclipsed moon. An eclipsed moon can appear brown, red, orange or yellow. The colour depends on the presence of dust and clouds in Earth’s atmosphere. If there has been a major volcanic eruption, for example, the shadow on the moon will appear dark throughout an eclipse.


Eclipses during 2012:
2012 May 20: Annular Solar Eclipse
2012 Jun 04: Partial Lunar Eclipse
2012 Nov 13: Total Solar Eclipse
2012 Nov 28: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

A full report on eclipses during 2012 will be published in Observer's Handbook 2012.


(http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html)

Detailed information on solar and lunar eclipse photography, and tips on eclipse observing and eye safety may be found at: http://www.mreclipse.com/


The full moon prior to every December 25 holds great spiritual significance for many people: known as the Christos Moon it celebrates the union of love and wisdom.
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