Tag: Moon

A Very Short Eclipse

We have been lucky in the islands lately when it comes to total lunar eclipses. A series of total eclipses have been visible from start to end from our vantage point in the middle of the Pacific. There is an average of one eclipse visible per year from any given place, but that is an average, you can go several years without an opportunity. Both 2012 and 2014 have given us two good eclipses and 2015 provides one.

Total Lunar Eclipse 4Apr2015
The sum of 699 exposures taken through the lunar eclipse of Apr 4, 2015
This eclipse would be a bit different however… Overall the eclipse lasted as long as is normal for a lunar eclipse, about three and a half hours. It was the total phase that was unusually short for this particular eclipse. It was only about four minutes that the moon would be entirely within the umbra, the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow. This usually lasts about an hour. The umbral magnitude of this eclipse was 1.0008, just barely over the threshold of one that designates a total lunar eclipse.

On Friday I did a quick interview with a reporter from the West Hawaii, Today, our local newspaper. He was looking for a little more information on the eclipse and a somewhat more local angle than a wire article on this eclipse. I chatted for a while, and got written up in the article…

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The Moon and Venus

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter
An evening conjunction of Mercury, Venus and Jupiter on 30 May, 2013
A very nice evening conjunction between a crescent Moon and Venus will occur this evening, March 22. The pair will be just under 5° apart and will grace the sunset until well after dark, setting after 9pm. Venus is currently shining brightly at -4.0 magnitude, a nice match for a 10% illuminated waxing Moon.