ECLIPSE CHASING ON APRIL 15

April 15, 2014...

The forecast was not good.  We were having a total lunar eclipse and there were clouds everywhere!  In fact, 200 miles in all directions from Cincinnati, there were clouds clouds and more clouds.  Columbus - cloudy.  Louisville and Lexington - cloudy.  Indianapolis - cloudy.  Pittsburgh - cloudy.  Nashville - cloudy.

I was about to give up when I expanded my search and tried St. Louis - clear.  Clear? Really!

So I threw my telescope, camera, lawn chair and warm clothes into the car and headed West.  Since the eclipse was happening from 2-5:30am I didn't want to drive too far (I had to work later that day).  I settled on Effingham, Illinois, a 250 mile drive, as the closest place that I could maybe see the eclipse.  The chase was on!

I wanted a few hours of sleep so I got a hotel room and had a nap.  I woke up with the hope that I would not have to drive any further west but it was still cloudy.  I went back inside, frustrated, and slept another 30 minutes.  Then I packed up everything, fully expecting to have to drive more, and went outside.  Much to my surprise and utter joy, there was the Moon already in eclipse!  The clouds had lifted just in time and when I saw the eclipse I just gasped.  I've seen a lot of eclipses but the first sight of one always takes my breath away.

I set up the telescope in the nearby Cracker Barrel parking lot and began taking pictures.  The Moon's color shifted every few minutes.  It started gray, then got rosier, and finally turned a ruby red when in totality.  It was breathtaking!

I stayed out until the eclipse was almost over, but it was so cold and windy for an April 15.  I went back into my hotel room and got a few more hours of sleep, woke up, ate breakfast, and made it back to Cincinnati in time to go to work.

I'm always happy to complete a successful eclipse chase.  But hopefully I won't have to drive anywhere to see the next one on October 8, 2014.  Here's some pics:

IT'S LUNAR ECLIPSE TIME!

A rare astronomical event will happen Tuesday December 21 in the early hours of the morning.  The Sun, Earth, and Moon will be in perfect alignment and the Earth's shadow will cha-cha across the face of the Moon.  This is the TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE!  The action begins at 1:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time) when the first visible part of the shadow eats away the left side of the Moon.  I especially love to watch this part because of the precision - it happens exactly, to the second, when astronomer predict it.  That's the time to hoot a holler at the Moon like a real "Luna-tic". 

The Moon will continue to move into the darkest part of the Earth's shadow (the umbra) and turns an eerie shade of orange.  This will occur from 2:40-3:53am.  Why orange?  You're seeing the sunlight bend off of the the atmosphere of the Earth and still getting to the Moon with a slightly different hue.  You can think of it as the reflected light of all the sunrises and sunsets of the Earth giving the Moon a similar glow.

Then the Moon will slide out of the shadow and return to a normal full Moon at 5:01am.  And then that's it.  We won't have another one in the United States until 2014.  So don't miss it!  Either set an alarm to wake up to the eclipse or stay out all night! 

For more on the eclipse you can check out my videos for the program Jack Horkheimer's Star Gazer.  I'm privileged to be the guest host of this program that is on PBS across the country.  Look for me on your TV late at night or watch the eclipse videos at:
1 Minute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSwxfzFsDUA
5 Minute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp4EpGFxHJY
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