Total Lunar Eclipse 4/15

I saw this the other day and was thinking I'd like to see it, sure. Then they said it was going to be at 3:46 AM, and I said forget it. Until I thought maybe it would be incredible to see this on top of one of the 4K's. Anyone else thinking this?

Looks like (if I am doing my best to figure out the exact times) the lunar eclipse doesn't start getting red until about 3:08 AM, then at 3:46 AM, it is full on. The red lasts until 4:23, then starts to fade. Mars is also supposed to hang over the top of the moon at that time.

I thinking of going for it. About 2 weeks to prepare. Hoping for a nice cloudless night, decent temps, decent trail conditions....hopefully it's not all mud, then I might stay home and enjoy it. Don't want to kill the trails for the summer.

Actually, we have 4 lunar eclipses coming up at ~6mo intervals: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/27mar_tetrad/

Doug

Awesome video, Doug!

Framerman- snow'll probably be a bigger concern than mud! If its clear, Moosilauke is an awesome full-moon hike, but it's a long haul from Maine. Whichever hill you climb, bring WARM, wind proof clothes... And have fun!

Just so you know, red is not always red. Orange and yellow happen as well. Saddleback has a small shelter at the summit, fwiw.

Its not a 4k but Kearsage North would be a great option. It has an enclosed tower with 360 degree views, its probably 1 hour from Waterboro and an easy trail to follow at night. Always packed out.

The tower is elevated up off the ground so it will definitely be cold at night but no wind. Folks do camp there overnight and there is even a outhouse off to the side (if it isn't buried).

Thank you peakbagger. Yeah, white mountains are oddly closer to me than most Maine mountains. I believe Old Speck is around 2-1/2 hours from me, whereas North Conway is about an hour.

I don't know...maybe I'm being a little over the top about it, just thought it would be an interesting thing to see.

A summit with a shelter would be cool.... By which i mean warm! If the weather's OK I'm going to try to talk my wife into Smarts; getting up there in time for the sunset/moonrise will be great, and the top of the rickety old fire tower ought to be great for the actual eclipse.

Reminder, it starts tonight (Tuesday Morning) at 12:53 AM!

Scubahhh said:

A summit with a shelter would be cool.... By which i mean warm! If the weather's OK I'm going to try to talk my wife into Smarts; getting up there in time for the sunset/moonrise will be great, and the top of the rickety old fire tower ought to be great for the actual eclipse.

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Bring some panes of glass with you. I was up there in October and it was quite cool and drafty! The ledges on Mt Cube or Lambert Ridge would probably be quite nice!

I would have set the alarm to get out of bed for the event, but knowing there was no chance through clouds I resigned to missing another celestial event. But for some reason I spontaneously woke up at around 3:00 and watched the eclipse progress on NASATV, via Griffith Observatory.

Last month I was prepared to make an accurate timing of the Erigone-Regulus occultation from a remote location near home that would assist in determining the exact size and shape of the asteroid. Now that would have been truly a once in a lifetime event. It was completely clouded out along the entire track and no one saw it.

Yeah, I bagged it too. I figured it was way too cloudy to see anything. We have a few more coming up, so that's nice. Maybe next time.

Nessmuk said:

Last month I was prepared to make an accurate timing of the Erigone-Regulus occultation from a remote location near home that would assist in determining the exact size and shape of the asteroid. Now that would have been truly a once in a lifetime event. It was completely clouded out along the entire track and no one saw it.

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Are you a member of IOTA? I used to do some timings when I was President of the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association. I remember watching a star pass thru Saturn's rings, trying (unsuccessfully), to see a grazing eclipse of the Sun, and watching stars wink on and off when they passed thru the mountains and valleys of the moon.

What a bummer this Total Lunar Eclipse was, I had great visibility of the moon until 11 PM at which point it totally clouded over around midnight. If it had only clouded over a few hours later! Good thing they happen fairly often!

Tom Rankin said:

Are you a member of IOTA?

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Not a member, but I probably should be. I was quite an active amateur observer many years ago, traveled to a couple of total solars, though I've not been a member of any organized club or anything. But I do maintain an awareness of current happenings. My career as a side benefit did get me into some very interesting technology and professional circles. I've been a continuous subscriber of S&T ever since 1963 when I was very young, and I still have every copy.

Blue Moon.

Turns out this was an interesting eclipse--there was a turquoise fringe on the moon... (Cue Ol' Blue Eyes: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/franksinatra/bluemoon.html...)

For a picture and explanation, see http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=17&month=04&year=2014

If you, like me, couldn't see the eclipse through the overcast , there is a gallery of pictures at http://spaceweathergallery.com/eclipse_gallery.html

Doug