There's No Excuse for Missing Tomorrow's Total Lunar Eclipse
Nature and technology have made it easy for you to catch tomorrow's full lunar eclipse, the last one until April 14, 2014. There will be partial eclipses between now and then, according to NASA's nifty eclipse calculator. But while these eclipse types only differ by one modifier, a partial lunar eclipse -- just a regular white moon obscured by a shadow -- looks lame compared to the giant fireball red moon (see above) we will experience tomorrow.
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One doesn't even have to get up at a totally ungodly hour to view the event. It starts bright and early, at 7:45 a.m. EST, Space.com informs us, but the moon eclipse will peak, the moon full-on red orb, at 9:05 a.m. EST.* For the completely lazy, physically incapable of peeling out of bed at that hour, or for those living in areas that won't get a good view, such as South America and Western Africa, there's an Internet show via Slooh's Space Camera. But if you're going to do that you might as well sleep till brunch and watch YouTube videos of Lunar Eclipses past. And, for those too hung-over to watch video footage, we have this chart from last June's lunar eclipse, from Reuters photographer Nir Elias. This year's edition should look something like that. And if not, the Internet should provide photos asap.
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Each lunar eclipse is a unique experience, not really replicable with YouTubes or photos, since the actual colors depend on atmospheric conditions, explains NASA. "[T]he delicate layer of dusty air surrounding our planet reddens and redirects the light of the sun, filling the dark behind Earth with a sunset-red glow," officials told Space.com. So depending on how the dusts looking tomorrow the colors could range from light orange to blood red. This NASA Science video does a good job explaining how it all works. "It's a rare way to begin the day," the narrator explains.
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This post originally said East Coasters could view the eclipse at 9:05 a.m. EST.
