Thursday, February 22, 2007

So Now You Know

The total lunar eclipse of March 3 2007 will be visible over the eastern Americas, Europe, Africa, and western Asia.

The penumbral eclipse -- the least exciting, and hardest to see part -- will begin at 20:16:29 UT on March 3 and end at 02:25:27 UT on March 4. It will be visible from western Asia when it begins around Moonset, the rest of Asia, plus Europe and Africa, and most of the Americas as it ends at around Moonrise.

The partial eclipse will begin at 21:30:04 UT on March 3 and end over 3½ hours later at 01:11:46 UT on March 4, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse lasts for over one hour; it begins at 22:43:49 UT on March 3 and ends at 23:58:01 UT on March 3, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 23:20:56 UT on March 3. It is visible over most of Asia, Europe and Africa, South America, and eastern North America.

The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; the Moon will be well within the Earth's shadow, the umbral magnitude being 1.238, and should be deeply coloured by the Earth's atmosphere.

Source; NASA info