Total Eclipse of the Moon

From SpaceWeather:

LUNAR ECLIPSE: For the first time in many years, northern winter is beginning with a total lunar eclipse. On Dec. 21, 2010, the date of the northern winter solstice, the full Moon will pass through Earth's shadow, turning the lunar orb a delightful shade of coppery-red. Sky watchers in North America are favored with an overhead view as the eclipse unfolds on Tuesday morning between 02:41 am and 03:53 am EST. Visit SpaceWeather.com for full coverage of the event including live webcasts, observing tips, and a look at the surprising connection between lunar eclipses and Earth's climate.

Blue Moon!

And a partial Lunar Eclipse too (for those in Europe, Asia, and Africa)!

From SpaceWeather:

Dec. 31st, for the first time in almost twenty years, there's going to be a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve. Get the full story and party tips from Science@NASA.

On Dec. 31st, the Blue Moon will dip into Earth's shadow for a partial lunar eclipse. The event is visible from Europe, Africa and Asia: map. At maximum eclipse, around 19:24 Universal Time, approximately 8% of the Moon will be darkly shadowed.

Blue Moons are rare (once every ~2.5 years). Blue Moons on New Year's Eve are rarer still (once every ~19 years). How rare is a lunar eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve?

A search of NASA's Five Millennium Catalogue of Lunar Eclipses provides an approximate answer. In the next 1000 years, Blue Moons on New Year's Eve will be eclipsed only 11 times (once every ~91 years). So this is a rare event, indeed.

PLUS!!!

SUNSPOT SURGE: 2009 is ending with a flurry of sunspots. The month of December has had more "spotted days" than any previous month of the year by a significant margin, and all of the month's sunspot groups have been members of new Solar Cycle 24. Could this herald an end to the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century? That remains to be seen. Sunspot counts and trends are shown on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

What a great way to end the year.  Blue Moons, Lunar Eclipses, Sun Spots, Russians to blow up Asteroid bound for the Earth.

A great year for Astronomy.  May 2010 be just as exciting!

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!

Dusky Lunar Eclipse

DUSKY LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Monday, Feb. 9th, the full Moon will pass through the outskirts of Earth's shadow, producing a penumbral lunar eclipse. The event will be visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading of the northern half of the Moon. Maximum eclipse occurs between the hours of 1400 and 1520 UT (6:00 am - 7:20 am PST). The timing favors observers in east Asia, Australia, Hawaii and western parts of North America. Lucky if you are in this area. I hope some of you will take pictures.

COMET LULIN UPDATE: The plasma tail of Comet Lulin, torn off by a solar wind gust on Feb. 4th, has already grown back. Also, observers in dark-sky locations report that the comet is now visible to the naked eye as a pale "fuzzy patch" in the constellation Libra before dawn. The comet is brightening as it approaches Earth for a 38-million-mile close encounter on Feb. 24th. See the latest images in the Comet Lulin Photo Gallery: http://spaceweather.com/comets/gallery_lulin_page7.htm

For more information on these space events and other related activities go to SpaceWeather.com

And remember keep watching the skies!

Lunar Eclipse for Saturday

From SpaceWeather

This Saturday, August 16th, people on every continent except North America can see a lunar eclipse. At maximum, around 2110 UT (5:10 pm EDT), more than 81% of the Moon will be inside Earth's shadow, producing a vivid red orb in the night sky (see picture above) visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted cities. The entire eclipse lasts more than 3 hours, so there's plenty of time for gazing, drinking coffee, and taking pictures.

North Americans can watch the eclipse via live webcast beginning 3:30 pm EDT on Saturday afternoon. Eclipse-cam links may be found, along with time tables, visibility maps, and eclipse photo galleries at SpaceWeather.

If you are in the effected area you now have a good excuse for a party. A little beer, some chips and an lunar eclipse and volia a party.

Or you might want to ask that very special someone a very special question during it.

Either way, I hope your viewing is spectacular!