The Total Lunar Eclipse of August 28, 2007
 By Lester Shearhart

To view the Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery associated with this article, click here.

Here it is August 28^th, 2007 the alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. and the coffee is on. It’s a little cool for an August morning but its fine with a cup of joe. Just before 5:00 a.m. the total lunar eclipse is to start. This time I brought out my camera with a tripod. On the driveway with a chair I look and watch the moon. Just about 5:00 a.m. and the full moon is low in the southwestern sky. I see a bite out of the northern edge of the moon. It is happening.

I have watched about five total lunar eclipses and they all have started at night not in the early morning. This one was going to be different, just had that feeling. It is an eerie sight to see the moon going thru an eclipse. It is a moment in time where nature is the one putting on the show and you have to observe it with that thought in mind. Nature does not care that you have to work the next day nor does it care if the clouds roll by. It’s happening now. If you are lucky enough the skies will be clear, the air just a slight breeze and in August you can only pray that the humidity is low. This is one of those mornings. It is one of those few times in life where the astronomy gods look down at you and smile. Cool.

It may take three hours for the entire process, this morning we will only be able to watch about half of the eclipse. The moon will set in the west before the entire eclipse has gone thru its cycle. Sun rise will also wash the moon out as well. Ah, what a sight.

Well, let us look at what a total lunar eclipse is. It is kind of like a solar eclipse with the Earth and moon trading places. In other words the Earth shadow blocks the sun rays from hitting the moon. The moon revolves around the Earth and the Earth revolves around the sun. There are times that the sun, Earth and moon line up so the shadow of the Earth covers the entire moon. This is over simplifying how a lunar eclipse happens, that is basically what happens.

Putting it into terms that I understand – It takes 365 days for the Earth to go around the sun. This is one year from point A back to point A. One year on Earth is completing one circuit around the sun and thru the twelve major constellations of the zodiac. The moon takes 28 days to go around the Earth. Its orbital plan around the Earth goes north of the equator and drops south of the equator. The moon going south to north it is called its ascending node; going north to south it is called its descending node. For a total lunar eclipse to occur the sun, the Earth and the moon have to line up just right.

There always seems to be a little twist with everything in astronomy. When a total eclipse starts, the moon enters the Penumbra (that is the partial shadow of the Earth). Then it proceeds to Umbra (the moon is totally in the Earth's shadow). Then back out the other side to the Penumbra. When the moon goes into the first Penumbra the dimming of the moon is not that noticeable. Then when the Moon starts to enter the Umbra it looks like a bite was taken out of the Moon. The moon can take up to an hour to go thru the Umbra. Of course when it comes out the other side it goes thru the Penumbra on the side it’s exiting. The Earth has an atmosphere and the Earth is bigger than the moon. This has an effect on a lunar eclipse. When the Earth is blocking the sunlight from reaching the Moon the light that reaches the Moon is refracted and scattered by the Earth's atmosphere. The Earth's atmosphere will cast on the Moon a burnt orange or copper­ color. It is kind of strange to see the Moon look this way.

Now that I tried to explain what a total lunar eclipse is, I want to go back to August 28, 2007. This was one of the darkest lunar eclipses I have ever seen. I was very surprised. The color was such a deep dark copper I could not make out any land marks on the Moon. The camera of course can gather more light from the object than our eyes can. The pictures show more of a burnt orange and you can make out some features on the Moon. About half way thru the eclipse the Moon was low in the west and it wasn’t long before it set. I would have loved to watch the entire eclipse, but as I stated before, nature is on its own time table. The Moon has always had a pull on me. It is one of the objects I can always make time to look at. Either with the naked eye or a telescope there is always something going on up there.

That dead ball in the sky that only shows us one face. The Moon helped create life on Earth as we know it. The Moon has the power to move the oceans and to inspire us to write songs about love, hope and dreams. The Moon has given us the basic beat that is in all music. It reaches into our soul to remind us that we are all from the cosmos. It also reminds us that nature is an explosive place to live with short moments of wonder. What can the Moon tell us about our being? Probably more than we know. Oh well, I have to get to the office and open it up by 7:00 am. I hope I made the coffee so I just have to turn it on when I get there. One last look, I just can make the Moon out. Always have a couple seconds to look at the Moon. Maybe I’ll have to play the CD a little louder on the way to work. You know I love that beat.

The next total lunar eclipse will be in February 21, 2008. After that we will not see another lunar eclipse until December 20, 2010. It is one of the few sights in astronomy that you can watch with your naked eyes, pair of binoculars or a telescope. All it takes is a little time and a few minutes to study what to expect before you go out to observe. As in the past, always look up at the Moon and stars and never stop asking questions.

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