The Best Place to View the Lunar Eclipse in New Jersey

Tomorrow night over a 1 billion people will have the opportunity to view a scene not available again until 2010, a total lunar eclipse. On the nation's east coast, the total lunar eclipse can be seen from 10:01pm through 10:50pm.

A total eclipse of the moon occurs when the moon passes through the umbra, or darkest, portion of the Earth's shadow. Although the Earth blocks the light from the Sun, the moon is still illuminated by indirect sunlight. Most of the blue colored light is filtered out by the Earth's atmosphere causing the moon to appear a vivid red or orange.

Best Place to View the Night Sky in New Jersey

Unlike a partial solar eclipse which requires special precautions, this lunar eclipse can be watched with the naked eye. There are several sites in and around New Jersey to view the eclipse. Near the shore, the beaches offer an unobstructed view of the night sky. In Southern New Jersey, the best beaches included Wildwood Crest and Ocean City. While, Sandy Hook or Long Branch are optimal locations if you live in the north. For those of you who live away from the shore, open fields and the tops of parking garages provided a clear location for seeing the eclipse.

Those desiring a closer look can visit an observatory like Fedric and Jean Edelman Planetarium at Rowan University. Wednesday night at 8pm the planetarium will be hosting public observing session. The total lunar eclipse can be viewed from the telescopes set up on the roof of the Science Hall or the observatory. There will also be experts attending the event that will be able to answer questions.

For those unable to leave home to see the sky first hand, there are online sites that will be showing the eclipse. For example, The PARI website will be receiving rapidly updated images from the PARI's West Observatory optical telescope .

Weather Forecast

New Jersey residents need to bundle up when going out to view the eclipse. The moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow at 1:43 on Feb. 21 (Universal Time) or 8:43 p.m. on Feb. 20 in the Eastern time zone. According to The Weather Channel, it is probable that their will be rain and snow across the state until around 9pm. For the total eclipse beginning at 10:01, clouds are expected to cover the sky. The temperature will feel like the mid-20s but actually be in the mid-30s.

Future Eclipses

The next total lunar eclipse visible from NJ will be in December 21, 2010, according to Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Chris O'Byrne. While, the next total solar eclipse in the world will be August 1, 2008.

Resources:

Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Chris O'Byrne (NASA's GSFC)
Fedric and Jean Edelman Planetarium
Fred Espenak, "Lunar Eclipses for Beginners"
Neal, Dale "Watch the Lunar Eclipse Online" Asheville Citizen Times
The Weather Channel