Moon Dragon

2/3/08 – 2/9/08
by C. Zaitz

Michigan winters can drag on and on, but soon there will be a real “dragon” in the sky; the moon-eating dragon we know as a lunar eclipse. The word eclipse is Greek, meaning “abandoning” or “forsaking.” On February 20th, around 9pm, you will see our lovely full moon abandon us as it is “eaten” by the shadow of the earth.

Lunar eclipses may seem rare, but they actually happen twice a year. We cannot see them if they happen during the day. The moon is always full during a lunar eclipse, and full moons are always opposite the sun. As the sun sets, a full moon rises, and as the sun rises, the full moon sets. That is why we see a lovely, huge, and sometimes reddish full moon rising at sunset. The color comes from light getting scattered as it passes through the atmosphere, but the apparent size is an optical illusion, due to the moon being close to the horizon.

A lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes through the earth’s shadow. As the moon orbits the earth once a month, there will be a time when the sun, earth and moon are in a line. The moon’s orbit around us is tipped about 5° from our orbit around the sun, so usually it passes above or below our shadow cast into space. Twice a year, the orbits cross so there is a chance for a lunar eclipse, but sometimes the moon may skim only part of the shadow. There will be such an eclipse in August, but it happens during our daytime so we will not be able to see it. The February eclipse is total and happens at night. This is our eclipse.

So here are the nitty-gritty’s of this eclipse. It begins with the moon moving into a penumbral shadow at 8:43 pm on February 20th. This will be hard to see, since penumbral shadows are light. The full eclipse begins at 10:01pm, and by 10:26 the entire moon will be eclipsed. This is when you can tell what color the eclipse is. Will it be reddish, like a rising full moon sometimes is, or will it be dark grey or brown? Sunlight passing through the atmosphere is responsible for the colors of an eclipse. Even though the moon is in our shadow, some sunlight does pass through our atmosphere and falls on the moon. Depending on how much the light is scattered, the colors can range to orangey red to dark, muddy brown. The more stuff in the atmosphere, (ex. volcanic ash) the darker the eclipse.

Eclipses were often seen as bad omens, especially solar eclipses, as if the sun and moon were being eaten or destroyed by dragons. People had different methods of scaring away the moon-eating dragon, such has making loud noises or praying. The best remedy for an eclipse, though, is time. By 10:51pm the total eclipse will be over, and the moon will be completely out of the earth’s shadow by 12:09am.Hopefully the skies will be clear so we can all enjoy this special event.

Until next week, my friends, enjoy the view.