A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur on Tuesday morning. This eclipse will be visible across the entire US, but unfortunately for us here in Georgia we will be dealing with both clouds and a very low viewing angle.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. The dull red coppery color you see is the light coming through Earth’s atmosphere being refracted onto the moons surface. In essence, you are seeing all the sunrises and sunsets around the world all being reflected off the moon- pretty cool!
When to look
The eclipse begins at 3:44AM as the moon will move into the penumbra. This part of the eclipse is barely, if at all, noticeable to the naked eye until the entire moon is inside it. The easily visible partial phase will begin at 4:50AM. Over the next hour the moon will gradually be covered up by the Earth’s shadow and slowly turn a coppery red.
The total phase will begin at 6:04AM local, with maximum eclipse occurring just a half hour later at 6:33. The moon will set at 7:02 in Cornelia with some variance of 1-2 minutes as you move west. Interestingly, the total eclipse phase also ends at 7:02AM.
If you have a near perfect 360º horizon you may be able to witness something incredibly rare. Sunrise occurs at 7:00AM, meaning that for just a couple brief minutes the sun will be above the horizon in the east with the moon still visible in the west. This is extraordinarily rare for any one location, but we are in prime position to see it locally. Again, though, you will need a nearly perfect full horizon- something nearly impossible to find outside of Brasstown Bald.
Where to look
While the partial phases will be easily visible in the west at 4:50AM, the moon will be sinking towards the horizon for the duration of the eclipse. By the time the total phase begins, the moon will be just 11º or so above the horizon. This will easily be obscured by even fairly distant tree lines. Your best bet is to find a large field and get on the eastern side of it to put as much distance between yourself and any trees as possible. This will give the best chance to see the total phase.
In other unfortunate news, the eclipse may not be visible at all due to cloud cover. Current modeling predicts 100% cloud cover across most of the entire southeastern US. Here in Georgia, the best spot may be in the southern half of the state further away from the wedge of cooler/damp air causing the clouds.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the cloud cover forecast and keep you up to date on the latest!
