Total Lunar Eclipse - February 20, 2008
The Moon, Sun, and Earth will treat Americans in the Lower 48 to a total lunar eclipse on the night of February 20. Most of the country will see the entire eclipse, while the West Coast will miss only a small part of the show.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the full Moon lines up directly opposite the Sun, so it passes through Earth’s long shadow. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is tilted a few degrees with respect to the Sun, so most months, the full Moon passes just above or below the shadow. But at least twice each year (and as often as five times), full Moon occurs as the Moon is crossing Earth’s orbital plane, known as the ecliptic. When that happens, the Moon passes through the shadow.
This eclipse begins at 6:35 p.m. CST, when the Moon first touches the hazy outer portion of the shadow, known as the penumbra. Most people don’t notice much of a difference, however, until the Moon begins to enter the dark inner portion of the shadow, the umbra, more than an hour later, beginning the “partial” eclipse. As the Moon moves deeper into the umbra, it looks like a bigger “bite” is missing from its disk. Eventually, it will move into the shadow completely. Sunlight filtered through Earth’s atmosphere will turn the lunar disk dark red or gray.
The entire eclipse will be visible from the Rocky Mountains eastward. Farther west, the eclipse will just be getting underway as the Moon rises. Alaska and Hawaii will see only a part of the Moon’s disappearing act.
Eclipse Facts
Date: Feb. 20/21
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 6:35 pm
Partial Eclipse Begins: 7:43 pm
Moon Completely Eclipsed: 9:01 pm
Full Moon (Snow Moon): 9:30 pm
Total Eclipse Ends: 9:52 pm
Partial Eclipse Ends: 11:09 pm
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 12:17 am
Times given are for U.S. Central Standard Time; add one hour for Eastern, subtract one hour for Mountain, two for Pacific.
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