Tag: lunar

A total lunar eclipse will occur on the next full Moon, April 14th. The eclipse will be visible across much of the western hemisphere, including the west coast of North America and across the Pacific. This is an excellent eclipse for observers here in Hawai’i, the entire eclipse will be visible from start to end.

Some references note that this eclipse will occur on the 15th, and so it will for much of the world. For Hawai’i this will occur late on the 14th when considering the time zone correction.

The Moon will be thoroughly submerged in the umbra, the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, with an umbral magnitude of 1.29. The Moon will not pass directly through the umbra, but rather through the northern section, thus the north pole of the Moon will remain somewhat brighter, even at maximum.

Observing a total lunar eclipse requires no special equipment, simply the desire to look up. The most useful piece of equipment will be a reclining chair or some other method of staying comfortable while watching the sky. A pair of binoculars or small telescope can provide beautiful views of the Moon during an eclipse. Photography is somewhat more challenging, but not that difficult. Focal lengths of around 1000mm will fill the field of most DSLR cameras allowing photos like that shown here.

Penumbral Eclipse Begins	18:53:37 HST	04:53:37 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins	19:58:19 HST	05:58:19 UT
Total Eclipse Begins	21:06:47 HST	07:06:47 UT
Greatest Eclipse	21:45:40 HST	07:45:40 UT
Total Eclipse Ends	22:24:35 HST	08:24:35 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends	23:33:04 HST	09:33:04 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends	00:37:37 HST	10:37:37 UT

In Hawai’i the eclipse will begin not long after moonrise. The entire eclipse will be visible during the evening hours, quite convenient for amateur and casual sky-watchers. This is an excellent eclipse to publicize and use for outreach purposes.

The next total lunar eclipse in October will also be visible across the Pacific region. It will occur somewhat later in the night and be slightly brighter, only 1.16 umbral magnitude. With two good lunar eclipses 2014 is a treat for sky watchers across the western hemisphere. An annular eclipse is visible later in April in Australia and the South Indian Ocean, a partial solar eclipse is visible in late October across North America.