There is something special brewing for night owls tonight, and for all owls too.
A total lunar eclipse will happen late Monday night (technically, early Tuesday) and will be viewable all across the state, weather permitting. Isn’t everything?
As we head toward the Winter Solstice (6:38 p.m) on Tuesday, the sun, earth and moon will be in perfect alignment to create the eclipse.
The moon (roughly 268,000 miles away) will pass through the cone of our shadow, cast by the light of the sun (about 93 million miles away) and the moon will darken significantly.
The eclipse begins around 1:32 a.m. Totality is from 2:41 a.m. to 3:53 a.m., and the eclipse ends around 5:02 a.m. Don’t wait until 5 though, as the ending pales in comparison to the peak at 3:17 a.m.
The next total lunar eclipse for us doesn’t happen again until 2014, so don’t miss out!
During the total eclipse, the moon doesn’t disappear or go away. It turns a dark, reddish color due to the suns rays bending around the earth, and because of volcanic ash in our atmosphere.
Local
It’s really cool to see in person and, if you want to share in this celestial display, head over the CCSU in New Britain for a viewing party on top of Copernican Hall from 1:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., now that reeks of fun!
My advice? Head out to the western part of the state, away from city lights (redundant?) and you’ll have the best conditions for viewing this particular event.
Here’s to hoping the skies clear out nicely for tonight!
