Lunar eclipse leaves moon glowing blood red

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The full moon darkened and grew reddish during a total lunar eclipse early today that dazzled observers and amateur photographers around the world.

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The edge of the Earth's shadow began to pass over October's full moon, traditionally called the hunter's moon, at 1:15 a.m. PT or 4:15 a.m. ET. It covered the moon for a total lunar eclipse starting 3:15 a.m. PT or 6:15 a.m. ET and lasting 59 minutes.

In much of Eastern Canada, skies were cloudy, blocking out the eclipse for watchers on the ground. People in Western Canada got a better view.

The moon turns reddish during a lunar eclipse because the Earth's shadow blocks almost all sunlight from hitting the moon. The exception is a small amount of light bent around the Earth by its atmosphere.

• More details about the eclipse from NASA

The atmosphere scatters most of the blue light, leaving only the red to hit the moon — causing it to appear red.

"It's the same reason why the sky is blue … and why sunset is red," J. Randy Attwood, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, said.

The amount of red colour depends on the weather in the part of the atmosphere the light is passing through, he added. If it's clear, the moon will be brighter and redder, but if it's stormy and cloudy, the moon will be darker and more brownish.

The final two total lunar eclipses of this tetrad will take place next April 4 and Sept. 28.

Meteor shower expected to peak

This particular lunar eclipse could give skywatchers an additional treat, by bringing out the meteors of the Draconid meteor shower, which is expected to peak tonight. The annual fall meteor shower produces relatively few meteors compared with the summer's Perseids, and the full moon is expected to wash out most of them. But the eclipse will temporarily darken the full moon and the night sky.

"That's the perfect time to look for meteors," said Attwood.

The Draconid meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Draco the Dragon, in the north to northwest sky.

Of course, the main event is still the eclipse.

"I get kind of excited about them because they're really cool to watch," Attwood said. "You're seeing motion in the sky, you're seeing it slowly creep into the Earth's shadow."

The best part is that they don't require any special knowledge or equipment.

"Anyone who sees the moon can see the eclipse," he said.

And unlike solar eclipses, they can be viewed without any eye protection.

"It's perfectly safe to look at an eclipse of the moon with your regular eyes or binoculars."

University of North Carolina Television / PBS

Lunar Eclipse Visible Morning of October 8

October 7, 2014

If you have to get up early on Wednesday, October 8, 2014, be sure to look west to see the total lunar eclipse.

A

lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. 

The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly offset from Earth’s orbit 

around the sun; meaning that if you drew a line from the sun to the 

Earth, the moon would spend most of its time either above or below the 

line. That’s why we can see a full moon – when the Moon is on the 

opposite side of Earth from the Sun – every month and a lunar eclipse 

only sometimes. 

For us in North Carolina, there is some good and

bad news about this particular eclipse. The good news is that it starts

late enough that getting up early to watch it will not ruin your day – 

the noticeable part starts at 5:15 in the morning.  The bad news is that

because it starts so late, the moon will set before the eclipse 

finishes.

The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) provided this approximate timetable for the eclipse:

• 4:45 – The Moon enters Earth’s penumbra, the outer part of the shadow. There is not much noticeable change at this point.
• 5:15 – The Moon enters Earth’s umbra, the inner 
  part of the shadow. This is where you can start seeing some change. Look
  for a red notch on the left hand side of the moon that will keep 
  growing as the eclipse progresses.
• 6:25 – The Moon is entirely in the umbra. This part is called totality and is what makes this a “total” lunar eclipse.
• 7:24 – Totality ends when the Moon starts to leave the umbra.The left hand side of the moon will start to turn white again.
• 7:31 – Sunrise
• 7:37 – The moon sets and that’s the last part North Carolinians get to see.

This is the second total lunar eclipse visible in North Carolina this year. The first was visible on the night before tax day.