i am an unrequited astronomer, pretend patient, gentle adventurer, pedal enthusiast, recovering calligrapher, occasional thespian and unfinished poet living in portland, oregon. contacting me via email is usually a good idea.
12:36 AM: dark side of the moon
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wondering when the lunar eclipse is next week? mark your calendar for wednesday, feb20 and wonder no more!
As the moon rises from the east, the eclipse gets underway at 5:43 p.m. PST when the umbral shadow takes a small, dark bite out of the left edge of the Moon. For 73 minutes of the partial phase, the darkness engulfs more of the Moon's disk as it slides into the shadow. The partial eclipse ends and totality begins at 7:01 p.m. PST, when the Moon slides completely within the umbra. The total phase lasts 50 minutes, with mid-eclipse (when the Moon looks darkest) occurring at 7:26 p.m. PST with the moon at 18 degrees above the eastern horizon. What makes it so much fun is that no one can predict what color the Moon will turn during totality. Will it be bright orange, or blood red? Only the shadow knows. Moreover, this eclipse comes with a rare bonus. The planet Saturn will be shining three degrees from the Moon. The total eclipse will end at 7:51 p.m. as the moon exits the umbra. Then at 9:09 p.m., the moon will exit the earth's umbral shadow.
powell butte will block the rising moon if we stay on this side of it, so we may need to hike up to the top.