Partial Lunar Eclipse, 16th Aug 2008

[Dollsworth]

A partial lunar eclipse occurs on Saturday, 16 August, 2008, in most of Asia, Australasia, Europe, Africa, and south America. Although only a partial eclipse, this eclipse should be quite significant, as most of the Moon will pass inside the Earth's umbral shadow at maximum eclipse.

The partial eclipse will begin at 07:35:45 NZTime and end just over 3 hours later at 10:44:38 NZTime, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 09:10:08 NZTime. The penumbral phases of the eclipse begin at 06:23:07 NZTime and end at 11:57:06 NZTime; these will be visible over a slightly larger area.

Unfortunately it seems for you guys in New Zealand, you will just miss out because you are too far east, your best location would be in the southwest corner of the South Island. Members in Australia have a better chance, but for the maximum eclipse you'd have to be in Western Australia. You are most likely only going to see the beginning partially eclipsed moon as it sets.

The map below shows which region(s) of the world will see this eclipse. The darkened area sees the whole partial eclipse; the pink areas to the right see only the beginning; and the blue areas on the left see the end. The moment of maximum eclipse will be visible from the darker pink and blue areas, and the whole of the black area:


More information:
SkyandTelescope.com - Homepage Observing - Eclipses in 2008
August 2008 lunar eclipse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hermit Eclipse: Partial Lunar Eclipse: August 16 2008

[Grant]

Not really going to see much down here on this one.

[Dollsworth]

Originally Posted by Grant

Not really going to see much down here on this one.

all because the sunrise comes too quickly, if it were 1 or 2 hours slower then NZ would be in for a good show

[ATO2]

Originally Posted by Dollsworth

all because the sunrise comes too quickly, if it were 1 or 2 hours slower then NZ would be in for a good show

Years ago, the now aging pop star, Cher, had a song: "If I could turn back time" !

[Dollsworth]

I just found this amazing site related to the eclipse not only for the 16th August but for past and present ones. It shows you how the Moon will be covered, then change colour before reappearing again

Please note: You need Adobe Flash Player to view the content

URL: Shadow & Substance Home Page

[Dollsworth]

24 hours away now, and after 2 clear nights its set to be cloudy tomorrow

Anyway almost if not full moon tonight:

[TokWW]

That's a nice shot of the moon!! Yes - if we have our clouds go away, we may see it too!! Actually not a bad day out there now... the winds have eased and the clouds parted some...

Watching for something better in one day's time!

[Dollsworth]

Originally Posted by TokWW

That's a nice shot of the moon!! Yes - if we have our clouds go away, we may see it too!! Actually not a bad day out there now... the winds have eased and the clouds parted some...

Watching for something better in one day's time!

Yes that was a lucky shot as a lot of high cloud has rolled in now. Can also see Jupiter to the right of the moon at the moment, like a slightly larger and brighter star. Can't photograph it though, its behind a lot of high cloud so fuzzy and the camera won't focus sadly

[ATO2]

What's with the brown coloured Moon, Dollsworth? Was there a layer of haze? Jupiter will be possible but it is more likely to be a blobbish streak, without tracking.

[Dollsworth]

Originally Posted by ATO2

What's with the brown coloured Moon, Dollsworth? Was there a layer of haze? Jupiter will be possible but it is more likely to be a blobbish streak, without tracking.

Yeah i think so, but has thickened recently
Jupiter looks like a larger, brighter star to the east of the moon