Total Lunar Eclipse - March 03/04

On the night of 2007 MAR 03/04 (Saturday/Sunday) the Full Moon will enter the Earth’s shadow and become totally eclipsed. The maximum magnitude will be 1.227, meaning the lunar limb will be separated from the edge of the umbra (dark central shadow) by 0.227 lunar diameters. It will be visible from the eastern half of North America and east across the Atlantic and most of Eurasia to India.

For most eastern North Americans the Moon will rise while in total eclipse. Those along the New England coast will witness the Moon entering totality shortly after it rises. Europeans will witness the entire event. Indians will see almost all of it except the final penumbral stage.

Descriptions and photos of the event will be welcome additions to this thread.

Below are my calculated event timings in Universal Time using the French Rule for shadow sizes. Unlike virtually all other sources, I also take into account the oblate shape of the Earth.

20:18 UT Penumbral Phase Begins (penumbra is light fringe shadow)
21:31 UT Partial Phase Begins (enters umbra)
22:45 UT Totality Begins (fully in umbra)
23:21 UT Maximum Eclipse
23:57 UT Totality Ends
01:11 UT Partial Phase Ends
02:23 UT Penumbral Phase Ends

I’ve created graphics that demonstrate the stages of the eclipse as observed from several cities. More will be added as the event nears. To see them, click:

http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

The graphics may be removed soon after the event occurs. 8)

The forecast was for continuous snow flurries. Then I had a little surprise here in northwest suburban Chicago after all. For a couple of minutes the Moon shone through a tiny gap in the clouds while it was still covered by 25% of the umbra. I grabbed my camera and ran out into the cold. But the Moon only provided a slight glow behind the clouds. At least there will be more opportunities in the future.

Prior to late 2010 there will be two more total lunar eclipses. They often come in groups of three over a period of less than a year. The next one will be on 2007 AUG 28 with maximum eclipse occurring at 10:37 UT. The following one will be on 2008 FEB 21 with maximum eclipse occurring at 03:26 UT.

Remember, lunar eclipses only occur at the time of a Full Moon. Only observers experiencing nighttime can witness a lunar eclipse. Full Moons are separated by an average of 29.53 days, but not every Full Moon goes into eclipse. During the 50-year period beginning tomorrow, 7.0% of the Full Moons will become totally eclipsed in the umbra (dark shadow). 4.4% will be no better than partially eclipsed in the umbra. And 6.8% will enter the penumbra (fringe shadow) but not the umbra.