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Total Lunar Eclipse - March 03/04

Notrump

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Notrump
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Perhaps astrologers will deem this portentous, but the rest of us can simply marvel at the natural spectacle.

On the night of 2007 MAR 03/04 (Saturday/Sunday) the Full Moon will enter the Earth’s shadow and become totally eclipsed. The maximum magnitude will be 1.227, meaning the lunar limb will be separated from the edge of the umbra (dark central shadow) by 0.227 lunar diameters. It will be visible from the eastern half of North America and east across the Atlantic and most of Eurasia to India.

For most eastern North Americans the Moon will rise while in total eclipse. Those along the New England coast will witness the Moon entering the umbra shortly after it rises. Europeans will witness the entire event. Indians will see almost all of it except the final penumbral stage.

Below are my calculated event timings in Universal Time using the French Rule for shadow sizes. Unlike virtually all other sources, I also take into account the oblate shape of the Earth.

20:18 UT Penumbral Phase Begins (penumbra is light fringe shadow)
21:31 UT Partial Phase Begins (enters umbra)
22:45 UT Totality Begins (fully in umbra)
23:21 UT Maximum Eclipse
23:57 UT Totality Ends
01:11 UT Partial Phase Ends
02:23 UT Penumbral Phase Ends

I’ve created graphics that demonstrate the stages of the eclipse as observed from several cities. More will be added as the event nears. To see them, click:

http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

The graphics may be removed soon after the event occurs. ;)
 
So, Notrump, at the risk of asking a stupid question... are you actually Curt Renz? Author of 'The Investor's Guide to Technical Analysis'?

Or are you a guy who works for Curt Renz Capital Resources?
 
Nancarrow said:
1)... are you actually Curt Renz?
2) Author of 'The Investor's Guide to Technical Analysis'?
3) Or are you a guy who works for Curt Renz Capital Resources?
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Guilty of all three charges.

You may want to return to my astronomical webpage. I've added London, England and Chennai (Madras), India to my lunar eclipse graphics. ;)
 
Occultation of Star during Eclipse

During the March 3 lunar eclipse there will be an occultation of the star 59 Leonis (Mag 5.0). We can thank Starchaser at Our Dark Skies for the heads-up.

59 Leonis (at time of event, not 2000.0)
RA 11:01:08.7
Dec N 06°03’39”
151 Light Years
Mag 5.0

As viewed from Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, I calculate the emersion of 59 Leonis will occur at 18:10:46 CST at Zenith Angle 299.7° on the lunar limb. That will be from the portion of the Moon that is still in the umbra (dark shadow), although the eclipse will be in the final partial phase at Mag 0.84.

The southern graze path of the occultation will pass through Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. People on the graze path will be able to observe the star winking on and off as lunar hills and valleys pass by. Folks north of the path will witness the emersion. Here are my formulae for anyone to calculate info regarding the graze path. Only a decimal western longitude is required for input.

L = Western Longitude as a positive decimal number
W = L – 82

Northern Latitude = 37.482265 - 0.070404 W - 0.003505 W²
Hour UT = 23.79639 - 0.00368 W + 0.00022 W²
Zenith Angle = 258.762 - 0.172 W + 0.001 W² (counter-clockwise from the zenith along the lunar limb)
Star Altitude = 4.672 - 0.806 W + 0.006 W²


Folks may also be interested in an occultation during the early morning of that same March 3 date before the Moon sets. It involves the Mag 3.8 star Rho Leo. For a graphic I created of that event as seen from Chicago, go to: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Also, be on the alert for the occultation of Mag 2.8 Tau Scorpii early in the morning of March 11. After the lunar eclipse concludes, I’ll make a graphic of this event available on my website. ;)
 
cool....thanks for the UK times...

(although you can guarantee it'll be cloudy :) )
 
Occultation Info for Europeans

andyandy said:
cool....thanks for the UK times...
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You're welcome, Andy. Here's more info for Europeans regarding the occultation of 59 Leonis during the lunar eclipse. ;)

During the lunar eclipse the northern graze path of the 59 Leonis occultation will pass through Scotland, England, France and Sicily. People on the graze path will be able to observe the star winking on and off as lunar hills and valleys pass by. Folks south of the path will witness a full occultation. Here are my formulae for anyone to calculate info regarding the graze path. Only a decimal longitude is required for input.


For observers west of longitude E 4°

W = Western Longitude as a positive decimal number
M = W - 2 (W minus 2)

Or

E = Eastern Longitude as a positive decimal number
M = -2 - E (negative 2 minus E)

Northern Latitude = 53.900173 + 0.823087 M - 0.015149 M²
Hour UT = 01.03634 - 0.03357 M + 0.00086 M²
Zenith Angle = 030.280 + 1.181 M - 0.048 M² (counter-clockwise from the zenith along the lunar limb)
Star Altitude = 41.542 - 0.581 M - 0.009 M²


For observers east of longitude E 4°

E = Eastern Longitude as a positive decimal number
M = 10 - E (10 minus E)

Northern Latitude = 41.960606 + 1.101453 M - 0.002898 M²
Hour UT = 1.57074 - 0.05368 M + 0.00050 M²
Zenith Angle = 008.40852 + 2.348 M - 0.025 M² (counter-clockwise from the zenith along the lunar limb)
Star Altitude = 45.466 + 0.171 M - 0.053 M²
 
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Graze Map for Occultation during Lunar Eclipse

I’ve created a graze map for the Mag 5.0 star 59 Leo that will be occulted by the Moon during the lunar eclipse of March 03/04. The southern graze path crosses the eastern United States, and the northern graze path goes through Western Europe.

Observers on a graze path will see the star winking on and off as lunar hills and valleys pass by. Those between the paths will see the emersion, and perhaps the immersion if located far enough east.

Also to be noted are the occultations of the Mag 3.8 star Rho Leo early during the morning of the 3rd, and the Mag 2.8 star Tau Scorpii early during the morning of the 11th (American time zones).

To see my lunar eclipse graphics or 59 Leo graze map, go to:

http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

The eclipse timings given in the first post of this thread are the same for everyone (allowing for time zone adjustments). But occultation timings vary. Anyone seeking information regarding their local circumstances for the occultations or grazes can reply to this post with the names of the events and the following data:

1) Time Zone
2) Longitude
3) Latitude
4) Altitude Above Sea Level

I hope everyone has good weather and good times during the events. ;)
 
Correction

fishbait said:
Thanks for posting this informative graphic. Well done!
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You're welcome, Fishbait. Thanks for the positive feedback. :)

It's too late to edit, but in the initial post in this thread the sentence:

Those along the New England coast will witness the Moon entering the umbra shortly after it rises.

should be changed to read:

Those along the New England coast will witness the Moon entering totality shortly after it rises.
 
Thanks for posting the details! The last lunar eclipse I witness was while camping in August. It was wonderful! One of those magical times when I was with a lot of people who appreciated the beauty of such an event.
 
August?

supercorgi said:
Thanks for posting the details! The last lunar eclipse I witness was while camping in August. It was wonderful! One of those magical times when I was with a lot of people who appreciated the beauty of such an event.
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You're welcome, Supercorgi. Indeed, such an event can be quite enjoyable with an interested group. Although, I'm puzzled about the mention of an August lunar eclipse? It could not have been recent. There was a minor partial lunar eclipse on 2006 SEP 07 that was not visible in the USA. There was another minor partial lunar eclipse on 2005 OCT 17 visible over a portion of the USA. The last total lunar eclipse visible anywhere (including the USA) came on 2004 OCT 27. There was a partial lunar eclipse visible outside the USA on 1990 AUG 06. Is it possible you were referring to the total lunar eclipse visible in the USA on 1989 AUG 16? I remember that one well, as I stood on the top of a five-story parking garage with a group of enthralled observers. ;)
 
Sir Robin Goodfellow said:
Remember, do not look directly at the moon.
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LOL, funny, but there's an amazing number of people who actually believe that. :D

Although in October I paid a late afternoon visit to an ophthamologist. My pupils were chemically widened for the exam. That evening there was a Full Moon at perigee. My pupils were still enlarged. The Moon seemed so bright that I was compelled to avert my eyes as though it were the Sun. ;)
 
US saturday/sunday at 8pm~ , so that's what about 5 hours later UK time?

.....though we seem to have perpetual rain at the moment - so i imagine the forecast is not promising.....
 
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The Vampire said:
For the east coast of the US, the eclipse will be underway at moonrise Saturday evening. Moonrise is about 5:40 PM.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/12feb_lunareclipse.htm

I'm a bit thrilled because I've just acquired two telescopes and a CCD.
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looks like it'll be on the web too.....

Live eclipse webcast on www.lunarobservers.com
If for any reason you're unable to view the total lunar eclipse on the night of March 3/4, but have access to the Internet, do join me as I present a live total lunar eclipse webcast from Rednal, Birmingham, UK, from 21:15 to 01:15 UT, on my website at www.lunarobservers.com.
If the skies are cloudy then a real-time simulated view will be broadcast - but do keep watching, because if the skies clear for any appreciable period, the telescopic images are bound to recommence.
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http://www.popastro.com/sections/lunar/eclipse_march2007.htm

march 3/4 - so sunday eve/monday morning.....?
 
andyandy said:
US saturday/sunday at 8pm~ , so that's what about 5 hours later UK time?

.....though we seem to have perpetual rain at the moment - so i imagine the forecast is not promising.....
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The times for the eclipse stages that I gave in the first post in this thread were in Universal Time (UT), which is the same as the current UK time. The eclipse will begin in the UK late on Saturday evening and end early on Sunday morning. ;)

BTW, UT (which begins at Greenwich midnight) is often not quite properly referred to as GMT. Technically, GMT is an old astronomical convention that begins at Greenwich noon, not midnight. However, it is generally assumed by the public and media that both begin at midnight, thus the terms are commonly treated as being synonymous. The use of the term UT eliminates ambiguity.
 
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Notrump said:
The times for the eclipse stages that I gave in the first post in this thread were in Universal Time (UT), which is the same as the current UK time. The eclipse will begin in the UK late on Saturday evening and end early on Sunday morning. ;)

BTW, UT (which begins at Greenwich midnight) is often not quite properly referred to as GMT. Technically, GMT is an old astronomical convention that begins at Greenwich noon, not midnight. However, it is generally assumed by the public and media that both begin at midnight, thus the terms are commonly treated as being synonymous. The use of the term UT eliminates ambiguity.
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yes i got my dates mixed up.....today's the third isn't it?
....i blame february and its unnatural shortage of days for throwing me.... :)

....this also means that the salmon i ate yesterday was past its sell by date :gasp:
 
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