Total Lunar eclipse of Feb 21st '08 seen in Kerry.
Being the last total lunar eclipse to be visible from Ireland
from start to finish a special effort was put in to see it. The
weather did its best to spoil the show but thanks to a local weather
effect here in Tralee where, given a strong wind over the mountains,
we often get clearances in the lee of the hills. So with a bit
of driving we were some of the few in Ireland to see the event
more or less in its totality.
The partial phase always looks odd with "bite" missing
out of one edge. However it is nothing compared with the eerie
appearance of the totally eclipsed Moon with the stars (and Saturn)
hanging beside it in the sky.
What was a bright moonlit night just half an hour previously
turns into a surreal darkness with a ruddy red Moon hanging among
previously unseen stars.
Totality numerically lasted for 51 minutes but the lower limb
of the Moon never really darkened as it was always close to the
edge of the umbral shadow.
The image over was taken at mid eclipse at 03:26 and is considerbly
brighter than what was visible to your eye.
For more images see the Lunar gallery
page.
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Kerry
Astronomy Club in Association with IFAS are proud to announce
the launch of the Lunar 100 Observing Challenge. Based on Charles
Wood's articles in Sky and Telescope, the lunar 100 is a list
of 100 features on the Moon that illustrate the Moon's diversity
and history.