Lunar Eclipse Means a Show in the Sky
With a forecast of partly cloudy skies Wednesday, West Sound residents may get the opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse soon after dark.
It will be the third time in the last year that the Earth's shadow has totally covered the moon's surface.
When the sun sets at 5:41 p.m. Wednesday, the moon will be just starting to move into the Earth's shadow, said Dale Ireland of Silverdale, an amateur astronomer. As twilight fades, the shadow will eat away at the moon's surface until it is gone at 7:01 p.m. The moon will begin to reappear at 7:51 and be back to full brightness by 9:09 p.m.
Ireland said it is hard to predict whether the moon will appear as a red glow or be almost black at totality. It depends on atmospheric conditions, he said. The red glow is greater when loads of dust hang in the air, but dust levels are probably low right now, he said.
Unlike a solar eclipse, which calls for eye protection, a lunar eclipse can be watched with no risk. Binoculars or a telescope can improve the view of the moon's surface.
Wednesday's event will be the last total eclipse of the moon in the area until Dec. 21, 2010.
While viewing the eclipse, Ireland advises folks to pay some attention to the lower sky in the north. A spy satellite in a deteriorating orbit could be shot down with a missile over Hawaii as early as Wednesday evening. Pieces could fall into the atmosphere and some estimates have them burning up over British Columbia, Ireland said.
The target satellite, known as USA 193, was launched on Dec. 13, 2006, and ground controllers lost contact about two weeks later. U.S. officials decided to shoot down the satellite because of a large amount of fuel on board and because there is some risk that the bus-sized object could strike someone on the ground.
The Navy cruiser USS Lake Erie has moved into position near Hawaii and intends to use the nation's Missile Defense System with modified computer software to dispense the satellite, according to reporters briefed on the project. If the first shot misses, other attempts could be made in subsequent days.
Viewing either event in the night sky is predicated upon openings in the clouds. The National Weather Service has predicted partly cloudy skies Wednesday across the Kitsap Peninsula and Hood Canal areas. Temperatures are expected to drop down into the 30s overnight with winds to 10 mph.