Total Eclipse of the Lunar Kind

On Saturday, March 3rd 2007, there will be a great celestial occurrence in the Eastern skies of Canada and the United States. After nearly three years, the earth will experience a total lunar eclipse. Among the areas on the planet that will be able to visibly see the phenomenon are the United States, Canada, South Africa, Europe, and Western Asia.

So, what causes a lunar eclipse to take place? A lunar eclipse will occur when a full moon slips into the shadow of the earth. In other words, you will have the sun and the moon on direct opposites of each other and the earth will be sandwiched between them. As sunlight flows through the atmosphere of the earth, it causes the appearance of the moon to be copper, reddish or even brown in color. It also depends on the amount of dust in the atmosphere. On average, a solar eclipse can last for an entire hour.

The eclipse that will take place Saturday is expected to last for approximately 74 minutes. They expect the event to begin the partial phase around 3:16 P.M Eastern Time. The moon won't actually rise until the eclipse has begun, which will make it difficult for some to see. On North America, they are expecting people that live in parts of New England, Atlantic Canada, and parts of Quebec to see the spectacular event, however many sections of the eastern US will witness parts of the eclipse. They expect the total eclipse to run from 5:54 P.M until 6:38 P.M, and the partial phase will end at around 9:25 P.M. According to the US Naval Observatory in Washington D.C, the sun will set in New York around 5:46 P.M.

However, if you are unable to view the eclipse Saturday, it is to be the first of two for 2007. The second total eclipse will take place on August 28th and there will be yet another total eclipse on February 21, 2008. Most of the weather forecast for the United States seems to call for clear skies in the Western and Central States, and cloud cover in the Northeast, Florida, and the Northwest. Most of the viewing countries' forecast calls for overcast skies, except for Scotland, Northeast England, Southern Spain and Italy, and Western Germany where they expect it to be fairly clear.

Besides having 2 total lunar eclipses in 2007, there will also be two partial solar eclipses. The first partial solar eclipse will take place on March 19, 2007 and the second will take place on September 11, 2007. The first partial solar eclipse is speculated to be seen from parts of Northern Alaska as well as parts of Eastern Asia. The second partial solar eclipse is speculated to be seen from parts of South America, Antarctica, and the South Atlantic.

*Sources*
-NASA Online. URL: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2007.html. (2007Mar02).

-Bloomberg Online. URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aAxkHM0Gv7eo&refer=germany. Alex Morales. (2007Mar02).