Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Way Cool: Total Eclipse of the Moon this Saturday

In addition to a cold front, TT says Taiwan is going to be treated to a total eclipse of the moon in which the entire process can be observed:

Cheng Chen-fong (鄭振豐), a specialist at the bureau’s Astronomical Observatory, said this time was different because people would actually witness the complete process of the total lunar eclipse, which would last six hours. The last time such a phenomenon was observed in Taiwan was on July 16, 2000, he said, adding that it would not occur again until Jan. 31, 2018.

The bureau said the moon would start moving into the earth’s penumbra at 7:31pm.

First contact, which occurs when the earth’s penumbra makes contact with the outer limb of the moon, would result in a missing corner on the right side of the moon. The phenomenon would occur at 8:45pm.
Because of the forecast of rain for the north and for the mountainous regions, the plains of the center and south will have the best change to see the eclipse.
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