'Blood moon' awes sky watchers in Americas and Asia

[Buster's Uncle]

'Blood moon' awes sky watchers in Americas and Asia
AFP
By Daniel Woolls  3 hours ago



Early risers across much of the world witnessed a total lunar eclipse overnight, the coppery, reddish "blood moon" passing into Earth's shadow



Stargazers in the Americas and Asia were treated to a lunar eclipse Wednesday, a celestial show that bathed the moon in a reddish tint to create a "blood moon."

During the total lunar eclipse, light beams into Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow that gives it a red hue.

The early phase of the eclipse began at 0800 GMT, or 4:00 am, on the east coast of the United States.

NASA provided live footage via telescope of the eclipse, showing a black shadow creeping across the moon in a crawl that took about an hour.

Only when the moon was totally eclipsed did the redness appear. The total eclipse was also to last about an hour, and ditto for the return to its normal colour. The total eclipse happened at 6:25 am on the US east coast (1025 GMT).

The NASA web site was peppered with Tweets bubbling with questions and comments on the heavenly phenomenon.



A "blood moon" lunar eclipse is seen in Tokyo on October 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno)


"This is amazing. Thank you for this opportunity," read a Tweet from the handle @The Gravity Dive.

"Is there any crime increase during this process? Any psychological problems?" wrote a person who identified herself as Alisa Young.

Just before the climax, Kathi Hennesey in California wrote, "Watching from San Francisco Bay Area. Just a sliver now."


- Ring of fire -

A NASA commentator explained that during the total eclipse, if you were standing on the moon and looking at the earth, you would see it all black, with ring of fire around it.



A total lunar eclipse is seen behind a ferris wheel in Tokyo, on October 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno)


In Hong Kong, free viewing locations were set up on a harborside promenade by the Hong Kong Space Museum for the public to observe the various phases on telescopes.

In Tokyo's Roppongi fashion and entertainment district, enthusiasts performed yoga exercises under the blood moon. Many others had climbed atop the city's skyscrapers to view the sky.

On Australia's east coast, a live video feed set up by the Sydney Observatory was hit by cloud cover, thwarting some viewers.

In New Zealand, the moon will be close to its highest point in the sky, according to Auckland's Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, making for a view of the spectacle unobstructed by buildings.

In Hong Kong, hundreds of patient onlookers of all ages lined the harbor front promenade late Wednesday hoping for a glimpse of the eclipse.



The beginnings of a lunar eclipse, seen from Japan on October 8, 2014. The moon only turns red when the moon is totally eclipsed (AFP Photo/Toru Yamanaka)


Many came armed with cameras and telescopes but on a cloudy evening in a city whose sky is rarely clear of pollution haze, it was visible only intermittently.

With tweets from across the viewing countries in Asia, one in New Zealand described the eclipse as "omg the sky is red right now... at 12:26 am in Auckland" with the hashtag "#sofreakingcoool ."

After clouds on Australia's east coast, the Sydney Observatory welcomed a sighting with "We saw the blood Moon finally!".

"Sydney skygazers didn't completely miss out tonight, though the cloud did dampen everyone's spirits early on," said the The Sydney Morning in a live report on the eclipse.

The event was not visible in Africa or Europe, NASA said.

The eclipse is the second of four total lunar eclipses, which started with a first "blood moon" on April 15, in a series astronomers call a tetrad.

The next two total lunar eclipses will be on April 4 and September 28 of next year.

The last time a tetrad took place was in 2003-2004, with the next predicted for 2032-2033. In total, the 21st century will see eight tetrads.


http://news.yahoo.com/blood-moon-awe-sky-watchers-americas-asia-192913504.html

[Buster's Uncle]

AP PHOTOS: Lunar eclipse in Asia and the Americas
Associated Press
10 hours ago



The Earth's shadow begins to fall over the moon during a total lunar eclipse, behind a weathervane shaped like a Spanish galleon on the Freedom Tower in Miami, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)



TOKYO (AP) — Evening viewers in much of Asia and early risers in parts of the Americas were treated to a stunning lunar eclipse on Wednesday, though clouds obscured it for some.



The Earth's shadow renders the moon as a couple in Ferris wheel observe it during a total lunar eclipse in Tokyo, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)


Lucky ones saw the moon turn orange or red in what is known as a "blood moon." The hue results from sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere.

Whoops of joy erupted at the Sydney Observatory in Australia as the moon made a brief appearance.



A lunar eclipse appears above Grand Haven State Park Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The moon appears orange or red as it reflects the suns color in the Earth's atmosphere. This is known as the blood moon. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Cory Morse)


"Very spectacular," observatory astronomer Geoff Wyatt said. "The cloud certainly got in the way, but we've seen it during totality and of course that's always the highlight — to see that lovely, reddish-brown color."

In Australia's capital, Canberra, Rachel Buckley watched from her driveway.



The moon glows an orange hue during a total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014, as seen from Bicutan, Paranaque city, east of Manila, Philippines. Wednesday's eclipse was the second in a series of four total lunar eclipses that occur in six-month intervals and known as a "lunar tetrad." (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)


"It looked small, but very, very clear and really orange, I thought — blood orange," she said. "It was quite exciting, pretty amazing to see . because it's not very often you get to see that."

In Japan, clear skies turned partly cloudy as the eclipse progressed, but some people who gathered on the rooftops of skyscrapers in Tokyo saw the moon turn a rusty brown when the clouds cleared.



A lunar eclipse dips down behind the Wheeler Town Clock in Manitou Springs, Colo. early Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. The moon appears orange or red, the result of sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere. This is known as the blood moon. (AP Photo/The Colorado Springs Gazette, Michael Ciaglo)


"When the sun, moon and earth align, I get the feeling that we are also a part of the solar system," Yoshiko Yoneyama, a 66-year-old homemaker, said. "It's that kind of feeling."


http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-lunar-eclipse-asia-americas-121808771.html

[Buster's Uncle]

'Blood Moon' Photos: Total Lunar Eclipse Thrills Skywatchers
SPACE.com
by Miriam Kramer, Staff Writer  12 hours ago



The spectacular "blood moon" total lunar eclipse of Oct. 8, 2014 is captured by photographer John W. Johnson of the Omaha Astronomical Society in Nebraska in the United States.



The full moon took on a spooky red hue in a pre-dawn total lunar eclipse Wednesday (Oct. to the delight of skywatchers who managed to snap stunning photos of the "blood moon."

The total lunar eclipse of Oct. 8 was visible to observers in North America, western South America, parts of East Asia, Australia and other parts of the Pacific, weather permitting. The  lunar eclipse is also the second of four consecutive total eclipses of the moon that make up a unique "tetrad."

During the eclipse, the moon passed into the darkest part of Earth's shadow, which caused the moon to glow with an eerie copper color. This color shift has caused some people to dub the natural satellite a "blood moon" during total lunar eclipses. The moon's temporary color also created an incredible, unique sight to behold for photographers on the ground. [See more amazing pictures of the Oct. 8 blood moon]

"The moon was a brownish red color," Christina Ryan told Space.com of her view of the eclipse from Elkhart, Indiana. "Very beautiful lunar eclipse. I am happy to have been able to witness it."

Some intrepid observers might have also been able to capture the planet Uranus near the eclipsed full moon as well.



Scott Gauer captured this photo of the blood moon peaking through clouds in Pennsylvania on Oct. 8, 2014.


The lunar eclipse reached totality just before dawn for observers on the East Coast of the United States, but well-placed skywatchers on the West Coast may have seen the lunar eclipse rise in a totally dark sky during the wee hours of Oct. 8.

Some astrophotographers in California captured stunning views of the blood moon. Thomas Warloe took an incredible photo of the moon in the middle of totality glowing red in a sky dotted with stars from Berkeley, California.

Photographers from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii also snapped images of the total lunar eclipse.

"I am lucky to have such a clear night to observe this eclipse!" Jared Kizer told Space.com of his view of the eclipse from Queensland, Australia.

If you missed this total lunar eclipse, you might have another chance to see a blood moon rise 2015. The next eclipse in the tetrad series is set to grace the skies in April 2015, with the final in the tetrad occurring in September 2015.



Astrophotographer Greg Diesel captured this photo of the total lunar eclipse and Uranus on Oct. 8, 2014.


Lunar eclipses occur when the full moon passes through Earth's shadow. Instead of blotting out the moon entirely, the moon turns a rusty color because of the way light from the sun seeps through the planet's shadow.

The color of the moon during a total lunar eclipse is also a good measure of what's happening in Earth's atmosphere at the time. If the moon is a darker shade during the eclipse, it could mean that the atmosphere is polluted from volcanic activity or other events.

This total lunar eclipse is only one in a series of amazing skywatching events happening in October. On Oct. 23, observers in most of North America will have the chance to see a partial solar eclipse. Comet Siding Spring is also set to make a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, and the Orionid meteor shower is expected to peak overnight from Oct. 21-22.

Editor's Note: If you snap an amazing picture of the Oct. 8 total lunar eclipse, you can send photos, comments, and your name and location to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.


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