If you get up early saturday morning, you may have a chance to see a red moon.
If you peek outside around 8:00AM CST, you will witness a total lunar eclipse. The moon will be passing into the Earth’s shadow. The process starts around 6:30AM and by 8:00AM the moon will be in perfect alignment with the sun and the earth. The red glow comes from the reflection of the suns rays off the moons surface.
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National Observing Chair of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Chris Beckett says, “It’s a great way to get into astronomy, and actually, looking at lunar eclipses is how I became interested in astronomy.”
Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth.
Also a solar eclipse is dangerous to view with the naked eye, but Beckett says, “A lunar eclipse is very easy to see, you don’t need any specialized equipment, you just need your eyes, a pair of binoculars can enhance it but it is most beautiful with eyes alone.”
The previous total lunar eclipse occurred on June 15, 2011.
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