Lunar Eclipse Tonight – Be Sure to Check it Out!
I’ve been hearing everywhere that there is a lunar eclipse tonight (October 18, 2013), and that I should be looking out for it!
But what is a lunar eclipse?
Well very simply, a lunar eclipse occurs when the moon falls into the earth’s shadow. It can only happen during a full moon, and it lasts for a few hours. The peak time of this lunar eclipse is at 7:50 E.D.T., so make sure you take a look!
The neat thing about lunar eclipses is that when the moon falls into the earth’s shadow the moon will appear red! Definitely a sight worth seeing!
Now I’d heard the terms lunar eclipse and solar eclipse. And I found myself curious about another type of eclipse.
What is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and earth, and blocks the sun. A solar eclipse can only be seen when there is a new moon (which is the first phase of the moon).
The image you see is stunning, and very fleeting. A solar eclipse can only be seen for a few minutes, whereas a lunar eclipse can be seen for several hours.
I remember my mother telling me about a solar eclipse that happened in the 1960’s. She told me she had to be very careful of viewing the eclipse directly for fear of hurting her eyes.
Both of these amazing eclipses are formed thanks to syzygy which is the “straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system”
And a fun fact for all my theater nerds out there: The musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, starts with Rona Lisa Peretti’s flashback of spelling the word “syzygy” correctly to win the third annual spelling bee! 🙂
For more fun facts check out this article.
