Lunar Eclipse On the night of Wednesday, February 20th 2008, the UNH observatory was treated to a lunar eclipse accompanied by cold, clear skies and over 100 observers. A total eclipse of the Moon occurred during the night of Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event is visible from South America and most of North America as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia. The eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon (http://www.mreclipse.com/LEdata/TLE2008Feb/TLE2008Feb.html). In the images below, we can see the progression of the Moon moving into the Earth's shadow. 
The images were taken by John Gianforte. The image below was taken at 10:18P with a Meade 127ED with a Canon 20Da DSLR camera. 
This was a great session! Although the weather was bitter cold, the skies were perfectly clear for the entire eclipse. Special thanks to the staff and everyone who helped out at this session, namely John Gianforte - who took these great images and provided views of the eclipse with his 5" refractor - George Clark, Trevor Leonard, Morgan O'Neill, and Trevor Morgan. And to all the observers who came out and braved the cold and got some great views of the eclipse. Thanks again, everyone. -RSW For more information: Email: unh (dot) observer (at) unh (dot) edu Or call us at: 603.862.3996 Last updated March 15th 2007 |