Lunar eclipse tonight!

This just in from Margaret:

Here's something parents and kids might find fun. Tonight there will be a lunar eclipse, in which the moon passes between the earth and the sun. The refraction of the sun's light will make the moon appear to change color from white to coppery red. It will be visible (weather permitting) across large parts of the world. Some places will see a full eclipse, and some a partial.

Anyway, here's a link to info on eclipses, and here's a newspaper link to general info on the eclipse.

I'm afraid I might have posted this too late for readers on the East Coast of the United States, but West Coast readers still have a shot. If you're in Europe or Africa, you got the best show!

Comments

[Tom]

Thanks! I saw it earlier and was wondering why the moon looked so strange.

[C Brannon]

Actually nobody on the west coast could have seen it. It was at maximum around 11:30 in England, which was 6:30 on the East Coast of the US and 3:30 PM in California. Hard to see an eclipse during the daytime.

[Elana]

Half the attendees of the http://www.awards.ie (the Irish Blog Awards) went outside after the awards were done, it was brilliant to see!

There's already a pool on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=lunar%20eclipse&w=all

[Jill]

My family went outdoors after dinner, but the eclipse was ending by the time the moon reached above the treeline for us. It still had a redish color and only a sliver of white moon showed. It was enough for little boys who were excited to be out in the dark!

[Randy]

By the way, a lunar eclipse is where the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun, NOT as mentioned above. Very nice treat for the eyes to see though!