A Leap Year Red Moon Lunar Eclipse Tonight :: Oblate Spheroid

by Edmund Jenks | February 20, 2008 at 02:32 pm

4511 views | 36 Recommendations | 28 comments

[Ed. Note I've brought this story current so that it appears on the homepage as the eclipse is happening now. I call on all NowPublic contributors to add footage of the eclipse. Go here to do so and don't forget to comment and let everyone know where you are.]

This year, leap year 2008, is North America's best chance at seeing the effects of the Earth passing between the Moon and the Sun until late 2010.

If the weather is really good and the sky is clear, depending upon where one is standing in North America, Europe, and Northern Africa on this Oblate Spheroid, one will see the color of the moon change from white/grey to a shade of red, and back again.
Image Credit: NASA

Along with the color change, the Red Moon comes with a fable that involves Christopher Columbus who knew that the shape of the Earth was not flat ... but he needed help to survive the ordeal of this first trip in the discovery of the new world.

West Coast residents may miss out on the early stages of the eclipse as it will occur before moonrise, but the rest of the country should be able to see the entire event--weather permitting, of course. Image Credit: F. Espenak

This excerpted from AFP via Yahoo! News -

Get ready for the eclipse that saved Columbus
AFP (Paris) - Mon Feb 18, 2:55 PM ET

The Moon will turn an eerie shade of red for people in the western hemisphere late Wednesday and early Thursday, recreating the eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries ago.
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Lunar eclipses have long been associated with superstitions and signs of ill omen, especially in battle.
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And an eclipse is credited with saving the life of Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1504.

Stranded on the coast of Jamaica, the explorers were running out of food and faced with increasingly hostile local inhabitants who were refusing to provide them with any more supplies.

Columbus, looking at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German mathematician, realized that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on February 29, 1504.

He called the native leaders and warned them if they did not cooperate, he would make the Moon disappear from the sky the following night.

The warning, of course, came true, prompting the terrified people to beg Columbus to restore the Moon -- which he did, in return for as much food as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.

The Moon will be in total eclipse from 0301 GMT to 0351 GMT. This will be visible east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, as well as in all of Central and South America, West Africa and Western Europe. The zenith of totality is close to French Guiana.
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The last total lunar eclipse took place on August 28 2007. The next will take place on December 21 2010.
Reference Here>>

This Red Moon fable points out that on this Oblate Spheroid, information is everything!

Path of the Moon through Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows during the Total Lunar Eclipse of February 20, 2008 (Eastern Standard Time) – Image Credit: NASA

Additional information on this beautiful and unique Oblate Spheroid astronomical event can be found:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/...LE2008Feb21.html

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/...e/OH/OH2008.html)

http://sci.esa.int/...t/index.cfm?fobjectid=38834

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/...s/15357796.html

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recommend This comment thread is now closed

René

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:05 on February 20th, 2008

Nice Red Moon roundup. Timely post, maps and links for today! If it's not cloudy here in the New Orleans area, I look forward to viewing it tonite, thanks, Edmund. I like this story. It's good stuff.

Jarrett Martineau

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:18 on February 20th, 2008

It's not looking like clear skies here in Vancouver, but I'm still hoping to catch a glimpse tonight, if there's a break in the cloud cover...Great roundup!

Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:46 on February 20th, 2008

I'm doing a no-rain dance.

René

at 10:37 on February 20th, 2008

Looks like clouds here in New Orleans, too.

One live cam site http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/ as an alternative.

Edmund Jenks

at 10:55 on February 20th, 2008

Great Find!

ryan

at 16:24 on February 20th, 2008

As usual, clouds in Vancouver. But I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for footage and wrangle it in to this story.

tequilamike

at 19:34 on February 20th, 2008

Lunar eclipse reaching totality. Shot on a cold February night in Toronto.

tequilamike has contributed a photo to this story.

rsxBob

at 19:34 on February 20th, 2008

Picture was taken in South Jersey

rsxBob has contributed a photo to this story.

drawat123

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 19:46 on February 20th, 2008

Edmund Jenks, I like this story. It's good stuff.

drawat123

at 19:48 on February 20th, 2008

every such natural happening reminds us that nature is there to take care of us, so please take some patience

ryan

at 20:09 on February 20th, 2008

I just posted 4 blurry pictures taken in Vancouver, BC at 7:45 pm PST.

redmens1

at 20:25 on February 20th, 2008

Even though the temperature was 18°F, my excitement to photograph the lunar eclipse made the time outside in the cold well worth the time.

redmens1 has contributed a photo to this story.

PEP

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 21:02 on February 20th, 2008

Edmund Jenks, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Alas, we're overcast here. I went out to look around. Blech.

But I'm enjoying every one else's photos.

trekkyandy

at 21:29 on February 20th, 2008

I'm glad you liked my photo enough to use it. I shared the experience with my family. I also shared the experience with my friends around the globe via instant messaging. Was truly great to be able to share it with everyone around the globe at the same time.

trekkyandy has contributed a photo to this story.

seanguepe

at 22:51 on February 20th, 2008

hola, esta foto es del eclipse lunar 2008, fue tomada en la ciudad de LOS ANDES, en CHILE... antes de que se produjera el eclipse total de luna....

seanguepe has contributed a photo to this story.

BigT

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:36 on February 20th, 2008

This red moon is cooler than any blue moon!

ifindtrends

at 02:00 on February 21st, 2008

Hi Everyone. Those of you who have contributed photos from tonights Lunar Eclipse, I am making a google map with photos of the eclipse from around the world.

Feel free to email me through nowpublic with your general location and a url to your photo or I can link to it on nowpublic.

If you have a flickr account or othe pictures on a website, I can link to it as well.

Then i will make a nowpublic post and gather all the info, link to this page and others from the day.

Here is a link to the Map or click the picture. 2 locals so far. SD and Portland.

fwwidall

at 04:06 on February 21st, 2008

fwwidall has contributed a photo to this story.

jabauman

at 04:10 on February 21st, 2008

Take at the start of the eclipse on 2/20/08 from my backyard, about 40 miles south of St. Louis, MO.

jabauman has contributed a photo to this story.

fwwidall

at 04:10 on February 21st, 2008

Here's what the eclipse looked like from Waterloo in southern Ontario. I shot this at 10pm just before the eclipse was total. The night was nice and clear here, although quite cold at -14C, but the eclipse was well worth a little discomfort.

armenianeagle

at 06:43 on February 21st, 2008

Out of all the pictures I took, this one was the worst. However, it was really cool to see even though it was sooo cold.

armenianeagle has contributed a photo to this story.

Jordan Yerman

at 07:10 on February 21st, 2008

These photos are beautiful. I was, alas, caught without a camera and with a dead mobile battery. By the time I got home, the clouds had returned, so I couldn't even photograph the red moon! At least I can gaze upon these fine images...

nmetzger

at 09:41 on February 21st, 2008

This photo was taken from Vancouver, Washington. I had to walk a few blocks away to take this shot because of several large douglas fir trees blocking the eastern sky from my house. Two more photos can be found here and here.

nmetzger has contributed a photo to this story.