Total Lunar Eclipse - 2007 AUG 28

A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur on Tuesday 2007 AUG 28. This will be during the pre-dawn hours for observers in North America and in the evening for those in the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Sorry Europeans, but you’ll be shut out. Folks in eastern North America will see the Moon setting while the eclipse is in progress. That should be an intriguing site against morning twilight. Those to the west will witness the full eclipse.

I’ve created three preview panoramas of the eclipse, including data: One each for Illinois, California and Australia. The event times (when translated to Universal Time) will be the same for everyone. But the viewing perspective will vary for specific locations, so just choose the graphic for the spot closest to your own. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread.

Here are the timings I’ve calculated for the various stages of the eclipse in Universal (Greenwich) Time. I use the French Rule for shadow sizes; most sources use the classic rule which is less accurate. And I know of no one else who takes into account the oblate shape of the Earth. The eclipse will occur at the same real time for all observers experiencing nighttime.

Total Lunar Eclipse
2007 AUG 28

07:54 UT – Moon enters Earth’s penumbra (outer fringe shadow)
08:52 UT – Moon enters Earth’s umbra (inner dark shadow)
09:21 UT – Moon 50% immersed in umbra
09:53 UT – Totality begins
10:37 UT – Maximum eclipse at magnitude 1.470
11:22 UT – Totality ends
11:53 UT – Moon 50% immersed in umbra
12:23 UT – Moon exits umbra
13:21 UT – Moon exits penumbra

The penumbral phase of the eclipse will only be noticeable when the Moon comes fairly close to the umbra and some light shadowing appears along a portion of the Moon’s limb. An observer standing on the Moon within the Earth’s penumbra would be witnessing a partial eclipse (technically, an occultation) of the Sun by the Earth. That means only a portion of the Sun’s apparent disk would be visible. An observer standing on the Moon within the Earth’s umbra would be witnessing a total eclipse of the Sun by the Earth. That means the Sun would be totally obscured by the Earth, although the Earth’s atmosphere would appear as a reddish band. That’s the reason we often perceive a reddish hue of the Moon during the total phase of the eclipse.