Join us Sunday night, September 27, 2015, at Brower Observatory to see the best full eclipse of the Moon you’ll see for twenty years. That’s how long the cycle lasts for the moon to be its largest and brightest at the fullest eclipse. You’re skeptical? Weren’t fooled by rumors of giant apparitions of Mars? No; it’s real this time. The eye can sense a 10% change in brightness, this Moon will be 14% larger than others you will see eclipsed, and we are close enough to dead center for an exceptional view.
We hear ya thinkin’ — No way you’d ever be out late on a work night! No overnights for me on a Sunday! Rest assured that the astronomic gods have you covered this time. You do not need to be out late. The second half of an eclipse is essentially a mirror image of the first, so it will not be tragic if some of us must hightail it for home while the evening is still fairly young.
Eclipses happen slowly. It can be difficult to see progress from one minute to the next, despite dramatic progress over the full four-hour event. Dwight sent exact times for the eclipse as seen from Bangor. Yours Truly sends instead data aimed at the gestalt. Approximate, easy-to-remember times will suffice in understanding what you will be seeing at what early hours, to help persuade everyone to attend:
7:15pm — Star party begins at Brower Observatory, 326 Route 126, North Whitefield, ME 04353.
8:15pm — Penumbral eclipse begins. Impossible to see, actually, but slowly…
9:15pm — Partial eclipse begins. A slowly growing shadow, gradually turning red.
10:15pm — Total eclipse begins. Refraction of the Sun’s rays through the Earth’s atmosphere bends red light into the shadows, so the Moon turns red. The ancients called this a “Blood Moon.”
10:45pm — Eclipse at its fullest. The half-way point. Darkest night, deepest red Moon.
If you must head home after this, you will have seen essentially everything once. Just remember that Charlie Chaplin movies always show the gags twice: Once so you’ll know what’s happening, and again so you may appreciate them more deeply. Stay if you can, but leave if you must. Now the eclipse unwinds, reversing all that came before:
11:15pm — Total eclipse ends.
12:15am — Partial eclipse ends.
1:15am — Penumbral eclipse ends. And cauldron bubble!
The eclipse can be seen, kinda-sorta, from your street lit yard in town; but, for the fullest effect, treat yourself to observations from the darkest site you can find. Part of the thrill is watching the night shift rapidly (as Minimalist art forms go) from fully Moonlit to ultra-dark and back again in the space of just a few hours. That’s why we in the East of the Realm have picked Brower Observatory for our gathering.
For those of you in the Western or Mid-Coast parts of the realm, we are not so Browercentric as we seem. We appreciate the need to stay near home on a work night. Galaxy Quest is unavailable Sunday night, but DRA would work. If you know a dark spot and want you CMASian buddies to join you, notify us with the listserv. (If you don’t know how to do that, just ask your Illustrious President.)
The Clear Sky Chart predicts perfect weather.
