This week is a great time to watch our space travelling companion, the Moon, move through its first quarter on Sunday, then through the Fall Equinox on the 23rd toward its Full Moon phase on the 27th. This particular Full Moon is traditionally called the Harvest Moon, and, by coincidence, is also as close as it will get to the Earth this year, making it the ‘Supermoon’ of ‘Supermoons’.
In an unrelated venture that same Sunday afternoon, the Montreal Alouettes happen to be in Regina to take on the Riders.
To celebrate the coming together of all of these events, and to give Rider fans travelling home something to take their minds off the game, the Moon will be putting on a bit of a show in the form of a syzygy (an alignment of three celestial bodies, and one of my favourite words).
On Sunday the 27th, we will get a chance to experience a reasonably common event, a Total Lunar Eclipse, for an uncommon length of time.
Lunar eclipses, where the Earth casts it’s shadow onto the Moon, happen fairly often, potentially every six months or so. However, most are partial eclipses where the Earth shadow covers only part of the Moon, so unless someone happens to be specifically watching, they pass unnoticed.
The main part of the September 27th eclipse will provide us with three hours, twenty minutes of entertainment (7:07pm - 10:27pm), including seventy one minutes of totality featuring the rare, deep red, ‘Blood Moon’.
This eclipse promises to be a fine view for the unaided eye, binoculars or telescope, and a great introduction to the night sky for kids. Unlike solar eclipses, these are perfectly safe to view.
Rider fans still on the road after 7pm, especially those heading easterly, will be entertained by the rising, eclipsed Moon. Binoculars make it better, so take them along.
Of course, any time I tell anyone I will be out to view an event, it clouds over, so, I will state right now that I will officially NOT be viewing the eclipse in order to give everyone else a chance to experience it.
I will, though, in next week’s article, go over a few observation hints for novice eclipse viewers, and let you know where I officially won’t be in case you might want to have a look at the eclipsed Moon and other things through binoculars or a telescope which won’t officially be there either.
This is an event for the entire family, coming soon to an east-facing back yard near you.
