Enjoying the Partial Lunar Eclipse

Last night I watched a spectacular partial lunar eclipse here in southwest Louisiana. Watching solar and lunar eclipses is one of the more enjoyable sky-watching activities that I enjoy. They can be so dramatic and stirring, especially total eclipses of the sun. This is why I love watching the sky in all types of weather, day or night.

The Eclipse

There were a fair amount of clouds in the sky all day, but no rain. After dark, the clouds were still there, and I thought that we would not be able to see the eclipse easily. The time approached for the eclipse to start (a little after 9pm). And the clouds thinned out where the moon was located in the sky. I could see a shadow located near the bottom of the moon. At first, I thought it was more clouds but as time went by, the shadow grew. I could tell it was the Earth’s shadow cast on the moon.

Then after a while, more clouds moved in and I thought that the eclipse would be over for me. I checked every so often for the next half an hour and finally the clouds moved out for good. At that time, the moon was at around seventy-five percent in shadow. I brought a char out and sat on the front porch of the camp and proceeded to watch the eclipse. I watched the shadow on the moon grow to about ninety-five percent. The stars came out brighter and I could see them almost as bright as during a new moon. This was about 11:30 pm, and I needed to get to sleep, as I would need to get up at 4am the next morning.

How a Lunar Eclipse Works

The following video by NASA Goddard explains what a lunar eclipse is and how it occurs. It usually happens twice a year somewhere on the Earth. A lunar eclipse, unlike a solar eclipse, is usually viewable over a wide area on the Earth when it happens. A partial lunar eclipse covers an even wider area. This lunar eclipse was viewable over the East Coast and over the Southern United States.