Lunar Eclipse October 2004

May 2003 Total Lunar Eclipse from Powell Hall (Kritsada Supa, 2003 May 15)
The Earth's atmosphere often scatters sunlight into the Earth's shadow
so the eclipsed Moon may shine with a dim to bright reddish or copper color

Eclipse Event Big Success! — See AAC Photos by H.L. Cohen, R. Langieri and T. Sarko

« Attend a Public Talk » « Visit Museum Exhibits » « Watch a Computer Eclipse Show »
« See the Moon Through Telescopes » « Observe a Total Lunar Eclipse
« Other Articles & Web Links About the Eclipse »

The Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. (AAC) and Florida Museum of Natural History are sponsoring a free, public evening exhibition on the night of the last total lunar eclipse of 2004. This eclipse coincidentally occurs at the time of this Autumn's Hunter's Moon (the Full Moon occurring after the Harvest Moon).

Club members will also set up telescopes in front
Powell Exhibition Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History, in the Cultural Plaza of the University of Florida in Gainesville during evening hours (weather permitting) to allow everyone to view the Moon and eclipse. Evening events also include a public talk about the Apollo Moon landings.

Come to Powell Hall by 7:30 p.m. EDT
Hear a public astronomy talk about the Apollo landing sites by club member Don Loftus
View a short, repeating computer presentation about the eclipse
Visit Museum Exhibits from 7:00–11:00 p.m. (For normal museum hours see contact information)
Observe the Moon through club telescopes after the talk (about 8:15 p.m. EDT)
See the Moon enter Earth's dark umbral shadow at 9:14 p.m. EDT
Talk to astronomy club members who will answer questions and assist adults and children

Date

Wednesday Evening, 2004 October 27

Times

Public Talk	7:30 EDT
Telescopes	8:15 p.m. – midnight EDT (approx.) (weather permitting)
Museum Exhibits	7:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT
Eclipse Presentation	All Evening
Eclipse Times	Totality 10:23 to 11:45 p.m. EDT (1h 21m duration) (For complete eclipse times, see eclipse info below)

Locations

Powell Hall

Education & Exhibition Center (Florida Museum of Natural History)
SW 34 Street & Hull Road, UF Campus, Gainesville Florida
[Map and Directions]

– Public Talk	In Lucille T. Maloney Classroom
– Eclipse Presentation/Telescopes	Outside Museum Entrance

NOTE: Public talk, museum exhibits and computer eclipse presentation held regardless of cloudy weather. However, telescope observing session canceled if clouds obscure sky.

THE PUBLIC TALK

Title

Man on the Moon: NASA'S Golden Age

Where Are Apollo Landing Sites?
(Move cursor over image & click to enlarge)

Time

7:30 p.m. EDT

Location

Lucille Mahoney Classroom, Powell Hall

Synopsis

More than thirty-five years have passed since two humans first walked on the Moon. Television helped the rest of us visualize the experience. This presentation will help put us back on the Moon, at least for a short time.

Tonight's presentation will remind us of this great adventure with NASA stills, movie clips, charts and graphics. You will learn where the different missions landed and what they discovered at each site.

This was NASA's golden age and probably the height of public interest in the space program. It was a magical time and it is our hope that you will discover some of that magic yourself.

After the presentation, the Alachua Astronomy Club will provide telescopes for your use. Through these instruments you can see for yourselves locations of the Apollo landing sites as we wait for the lunar eclipse to occur. No, you won't see any of the stuff the Apollo Astronauts left behind ... it's much too small! However, you will see places no man has gone before (or since).

About the Speaker

Don works with a mirror tester

Don Loftus is an avid amateur astronomer, a longtime Alachua Astronomy Club member, and is currently an Instructional TV Producer/Director at the University of Florida. Don is a also member of the club's amateur telescope making group. Besides telescope making, Don also likes to dabble in astrophotography. Don says his favorite color is green probably because he is currently planting vineyards on his farm north of Gainesville. To learn how to manage the money he hopes to make from his grapes, Don is currently serving as club treasurer.

TELESCOPES TO VIEW MOON AND PLANETS

The AAC will have telescopes set up in front of Powell Hall Exhibition Center
(Florida Museum of Natural History)

The Full Moon will rise about ten minutes before sunset (6:47 p.m. EDT)
Telescopes will be available to view the Moon beginning about 8:15 p.m. EDT
The Moon enters the Earth's outer, lighter shadow (penumbra) at 8:06 p.m. EDT but most people will see little darkening until about nine o'clock
The Moon enters the Earth's inner, darker shadow (umbra) at 9:14 p.m. EDT. This is when the first "distinct" bite out of the Moon's eastern edge will occur
Telescopes will be available to view the eclipse until about midnight. (The Moon will begin to leave the umbra at 11:45 p.m. EDT.)
(For a summary of complete eclipse times, see "The Eclipse" below)

THE ECLIPSE
For Those Who Want the Details
(A summary of eclipse times appears below)

Total Lunar Eclipse,
2004 Nov. 8
(Cr. Roger Langieri)

This, the second lunar eclipse of 2004, is again a total eclipse as has been the three previous lunar eclipses (2003 May 15, 2003 November 8, 2004 May 4)! (The first two were visible from Florida, the third was not.) The Moon will rise about 11 minutes before the Sun sets (6:47 p.m. EDT), a few hours before the eclipse begins.

This eclipse falls at the time of this Autumn's Hunter's Moon, which occurs four days before Halloween this year. Consequently, the Moon on Halloween's eve will be in waning gibbous phase. Usually, this would mean the Moon would not rise or shine on "trick or treaters" until very late evening. Fortunately, moonrise times near the times of Harvest or Hunter's Moons are not delayed very much. Consequently, a relatively bright waning Moon will rise just after 8 o'clock on Halloween night!

Note: Daylight Time ends Sunday morning 2004 October 31.

The eclipse will begin at 8:06 p.m. EDT Wednesday evening, October 27, as the Moon enters the Earth's penumbral shadow. Therefore, most of the eclipse will occur in late evening but before midnight. However, obvious penumbral darkening on the Moon will probably not occur until after 8:30 p.m. EDT with the Moon finally entering the Earth's umbra at 9:14 p.m. EDT. The Moon will become totally eclipsed at 10:23 p.m. EDT with greatest eclipse not until 11:04 p.m. EDT.

The Moon's trajectory takes the Moon deep into the northern umbral shadow resulting in a relatively long total eclipse lasting 1h 21m. At mid-eclipse, the Moon's southern limb will lie only 0.7 arc minutes from the umbra's center. However, the Moon's northern limb stays 31.3 arc minutes from the center and only 9.5 arc minutes from the umbral's edge. This should result in a strong brightness gradient (variation) across the lunar disk with a possible bright rim along the northern edge. Of course, also look for interesting and colorful tones on the eclipsed Moon from sunlight scattered into the Earth's shadow.

Since totality lasts almost 1-1/2 hours, ending just before midnight (11:45 p.m. EDT), you will need to stay up late to view the end of the eclipse—the Moon does not leave the Earth's umbra until nearly one o'clock Thursday morning (12:54 a.m. EDT). The end of the penumbral eclipse is not until 2:03 a.m. EDT

This eclipse will be widely visible all over North America with the eastern two-thirds of the continental USA positioned to see the entire eclipse. The next four lunar eclipses are either only penumbral (2005 April and 2006 March) or partial (2005 October and 2006 September). Three total lunar eclipses follow (2007 March and August, 2008 February). However, the first two are only partly visible from Florida. So, the next total lunar eclipse visible in its entirety from Florida is about three and one-half years in the future!

Eclipse Presentation Outside the Museum entrance the club will set up a short (ten minute), repeating computer presentation that will give a brief summary of the eclipse including a simulation of what the entire eclipse will look like. (In case of inclement weather, the presentation will be placed inside the Museum entrance.)

**Lunar Eclipse Times (Wednesday Evening, 2004 October 27)** *
[Times **Eastern Daylight Time**, which is Universal Time (UT) minus four hours]
Moon Rises	6:36 p.m.	Moon's Path Through Earth's Shadow and Area of Visibility Click image to open larger version in a new window (courtesy Fred Espenak, NASA/GFSC)
Sun Sets	6:47 p.m.
Civil Twilight Ends⁽²⁾	7:11 p.m.
Nautical Twilight Ends⁽³⁾	7:39 p.m.
P1. Moon enters penumbra⁽¹⁾	8:06 p.m.
Astronomical Twilight Ends⁽⁵⁾	8:07 p.m.
U1. Moon enters umbra⁽⁴⁾	9:14 p.m.
U2. Moon fully within umbra	10:23 p.m.
Moon at greatest eclipse	11:04 p.m.
U3. Moon begins to leave umbra	11:45 p.m.
U4. Moon fully out of umbra	12:54 a.m.
P4. Moon leaves penumbra	2:03 a.m.
Note: Times in figure are UT (4h later than EDT). This causes eclipse date in figure to appear as 2004 October 28. However, eclipse in Gainesville begins the night of October 27.
Notes: Penumbra Outer, lighter part of Earth's shadow. Civil Twilight Center of Sun 6° below horizon (brightest stars visible). Nautical Twilight Center of Sun 12° below horizon (horizon no longer visible). Umbra Inner, darker part of Earth's shadow. Astronomical Twilight Center of Sun 18° below horizon (sunlight scattered by atmosphere negligible).

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