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Tonight's Lunar Eclipse Comes With a Rare Twist

31 points by zafka 16y ago

ygd 16y ago
The meteor shower makes it even worse for us missing it due to cloudy skies. (SoCal here)
Groxx 16y ago
Gotta; overcast :'( I saw the eclipse a few years back through a telescope, though. That was fun, though we only had a few minutes before (again!) clouds came through.
- jerf 16y ago
  Fortunately, lunar eclipses happen with some regularity: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/ has a schedule up IIRC, but you may have to wait until tomorrow to get it, it seems a bit hammered for some reason (ahem). This would be barely newsworthy if it didn't coincide with the solstice, an event only remarkable to us humans. The solar eclipses are a bit more rare. Again, IIRC, the next one that I have a chance to see, assuming I am in the same place by then, was 2024. That'll be a pretty good one for the US, with the center going through northern California and passing through Texas.
  - powera 16y ago
    The solstice is unremarkable, or the coincidence is? I would think the shortest day of the year is relatively noteworthy to other species, even if they can't detect the specific date; certainly more interesting than a lunar eclipse (I'd assume most animals are either asleep or can function just fine without a visible moon). I agree the coincidence is pretty meaningless, especially since it's about 15 hours off from the exact moment of the solstice.
    - Groxx 16y ago
      15 hours off? Meh. Fail. Wake me when it's exact. /finds cryo-chamber
- JshWright 16y ago
  I feel your pain. Syracuse, NY here... Thanks to Lake Ontario, we're under almost perpetual cloud cover during the winter (with snow falling out of those clouds most of the time).
wyclif 16y ago
Mostly clear here on the East coast of the US, so I'm setting up the telescope.
jcdreads 16y ago
Snow and certain clouds all night near Boston. This is the only winter solstice snow storm I've ever been disappointed by. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.24529366344873&lon=-71.03965759277344&site=box&smap=1&marine=0&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=graphical http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.245293663448...
jberryman 16y ago
Clear here in Richmond :) going to hang out by the carillon, hopefully with some warm libations.
kqr2 16y ago
In the SF Bay Area, a couple of places are hosting special events. -Chabot Space & Science Center : 9pm - 2am. http://www.chabotspace.org/calendar.htm?date=12-20-2010&p=1439355 http://www.chabotspace.org/calendar.htm?date=12-20-2010&... -Lawrence Hall of Science: 8pm - 2am. http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/LHS.html?event_ID=37842&date=2010-12-20&filter=Secondary%20Event%20Type&filtersel= http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/LHS.html?ev... Also, you might want to add "Tell HN" to the post.
aaronbrethorst 16y ago
Seattle's looking dicey for viewing, unfortunately.
- rbritton 16y ago
  I'm on the other side of the state -- we managed to see it just up to full coverage before the clouds came in.
cd34 16y ago
+ Ursids meteor shower Unbelievably clear skies, 53F, bedroom community with little light pollution.... should be great. Jupiter set earlier (with Neptune). Pink Floyd, DSOTM on the playlist in tribute.
- splat 16y ago
  I was thinking of playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but upon reflection I realized it wasn't appropriate.
timmorgan 16y ago
This article says it starts at 12:30 EST -- I think it's actually 1:30 EST, no?
- acangiano 16y ago
  Correct. See: http://shadowandsubstance.com/ http://shadowandsubstance.com/
  - timmorgan 16y ago
    I'm getting a 404 for that URL.
thefool 16y ago
Overcast in buffalo...
alain94040 16y ago
If you ever have the opportunity to witness a full solar eclipse, do it. Don't settle for a partial one, it's night and day (pun intended).
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  Just got my ass out of bed at 3am to go out of my apartment building to see it. I remember seeing a partial as a kid, but holy frabjous day is there a world of difference. The moon was an incredibly dark red (from what I saw before). It's literally a blood red moon, like more red than I remember observing Mars as. I was hoping to see it off my balcony (should be able to catch one of the 2014 lunar eclipses that way) but it's still incredibly high in the sky. However for setting an alarm and putting a winter coat on, it was totally worth it. Quite simply, it's by far the coolest thing I've seen this year and I spent diddley squat on it.
jcr 16y ago
The best layout of times and time zones is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse Also, if you're using unix, look for the UTC flag (typically '-u') for the date(1) command.
zafka 16y ago
Great view here in Jensen Beach, FL.

31 points by zafka 16y ago

ygd 16y ago

The meteor shower makes it even worse for us missing it due to cloudy skies. (SoCal here)

Groxx 16y ago

Gotta; overcast :'( I saw the eclipse a few years back through a telescope, though. That was fun, though we only had a few minutes before (again!) clouds came through.

jerf 16y ago
Fortunately, lunar eclipses happen with some regularity: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/ has a schedule up IIRC, but you may have to wait until tomorrow to get it, it seems a bit hammered for some reason (ahem). This would be barely newsworthy if it didn't coincide with the solstice, an event only remarkable to us humans. The solar eclipses are a bit more rare. Again, IIRC, the next one that I have a chance to see, assuming I am in the same place by then, was 2024. That'll be a pretty good one for the US, with the center going through northern California and passing through Texas.
- powera 16y ago
  The solstice is unremarkable, or the coincidence is? I would think the shortest day of the year is relatively noteworthy to other species, even if they can't detect the specific date; certainly more interesting than a lunar eclipse (I'd assume most animals are either asleep or can function just fine without a visible moon). I agree the coincidence is pretty meaningless, especially since it's about 15 hours off from the exact moment of the solstice.
  - Groxx 16y ago
    15 hours off? Meh. Fail. Wake me when it's exact. /finds cryo-chamber
JshWright 16y ago
I feel your pain. Syracuse, NY here... Thanks to Lake Ontario, we're under almost perpetual cloud cover during the winter (with snow falling out of those clouds most of the time).

wyclif 16y ago

Mostly clear here on the East coast of the US, so I'm setting up the telescope.

jcdreads 16y ago

Snow and certain clouds all night near Boston. This is the only winter solstice snow storm I've ever been disappointed by. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.24529366344873&lon=-71.03965759277344&site=box&smap=1&marine=0&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=graphical http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.245293663448...

jberryman 16y ago

Clear here in Richmond :) going to hang out by the carillon, hopefully with some warm libations.

kqr2 16y ago

In the SF Bay Area, a couple of places are hosting special events. -Chabot Space & Science Center : 9pm - 2am. http://www.chabotspace.org/calendar.htm?date=12-20-2010&p=1439355 http://www.chabotspace.org/calendar.htm?date=12-20-2010&... -Lawrence Hall of Science: 8pm - 2am. http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/LHS.html?event_ID=37842&date=2010-12-20&filter=Secondary%20Event%20Type&filtersel= http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/LHS.html?ev... Also, you might want to add "Tell HN" to the post.

aaronbrethorst 16y ago

Seattle's looking dicey for viewing, unfortunately.

rbritton 16y ago
I'm on the other side of the state -- we managed to see it just up to full coverage before the clouds came in.

cd34 16y ago

+ Ursids meteor shower Unbelievably clear skies, 53F, bedroom community with little light pollution.... should be great. Jupiter set earlier (with Neptune). Pink Floyd, DSOTM on the playlist in tribute.

splat 16y ago
I was thinking of playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but upon reflection I realized it wasn't appropriate.

timmorgan 16y ago

This article says it starts at 12:30 EST -- I think it's actually 1:30 EST, no?

acangiano 16y ago
Correct. See: http://shadowandsubstance.com/ http://shadowandsubstance.com/
- timmorgan 16y ago
  I'm getting a 404 for that URL.

thefool 16y ago

Overcast in buffalo...

alain94040 16y ago

If you ever have the opportunity to witness a full solar eclipse, do it. Don't settle for a partial one, it's night and day (pun intended).

electromagnetic 16y ago
Just got my ass out of bed at 3am to go out of my apartment building to see it. I remember seeing a partial as a kid, but holy frabjous day is there a world of difference. The moon was an incredibly dark red (from what I saw before). It's literally a blood red moon, like more red than I remember observing Mars as. I was hoping to see it off my balcony (should be able to catch one of the 2014 lunar eclipses that way) but it's still incredibly high in the sky. However for setting an alarm and putting a winter coat on, it was totally worth it. Quite simply, it's by far the coolest thing I've seen this year and I spent diddley squat on it.

jcr 16y ago

The best layout of times and time zones is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse Also, if you're using unix, look for the UTC flag (typically '-u') for the date(1) command.

zafka 16y ago

Great view here in Jensen Beach, FL.