Total Lunar Eclipse 10/11 Dec 2011 http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-619-0-0-1-0.html In Sydney/NSW from about 11:45pm Sat10Dec to 3:15am Sun11Dec with a Totality period starting around 1:10am of about 50mins, the Moon (Full Moon Sunday) will be about 30 degrees above the northeastern Horizon. Mmmm.. TOTALITY. It's completely safe to observe Lunar Eclipses like this one with the naked eye - this is where the earth passes directly between the Sun & Moon and we are looking at the Moon. The weather forcast looks bad unfort., fingers crossed the northeastern sky at least clears somehow for it!
Work Chrissy Party tonight, with free beer, so by that time the eyes may not be able to focus on the sky.
Tis magic! Selenelion is more a quirk of the vision than an actual happening. If we recall our science lessons, we know that refraction bends the light rays when light passes through two media of different densities. Atmospheric refraction causes astronomical objects to appear higher in the sky than they are in reality. So when the sun has actually set, we get to see the sun setting through refraction in the atmosphere. Selenelion occurs because refracted light makes the sun visible though it is nowhere near the eclipsed moon. This Saturday for roughly one to six minutes, refraction will make the moon appear to be setting to people in the US while the sun is rising on the other horizon.
Got a great view here (in the Newcastle area) around 1:20am. Most of the sky was clear, the night was calm, plenty of stars visible and the Blood Moon distinctly reddened and beautiful prominent in the North-NorthEastern sky. Saw a low Shooting Star streak in not far from it from the east around 1:30am too. Wispy streaks of cloud started moving across our view from the west around then which actually made for some interesting variation for a bit. There'll be plenty of pics (by others) online of it. Sweeet.
Watched it here in Darwin. Didn't have to wait til 1.30am thankfully. Was just after 11.30pm here. Was weird seeing a full moon and then a few hours later just a greyish smudged hazey outline. Pretty cool.
