Where to Get a View of Total Lunar Eclipse

A total lunar eclipse--the last one visible from beginning to end from Los Angeles until Jan. 21, 2000--will occur Sunday evening as the moon moves through the shadow of the Earth.

The eclipse, which will begin at 7:27 p.m., offers fine viewing opportunities, weather permitting. It will occur when the moon is high in the sky, situated between the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters.

At 8:40 p.m., the moon will begin to enter the dark inner part of the Earth’s shadow, called the umbra. During the next hour and a quarter, the moon will gradually disappear.

Expectations are for a light to medium eclipse, with the brightness or dimness depending on the amount of dust in the atmosphere. The refracted sunlight around the edge of the Earth may make the moon appear reddish. The best viewing times will be from about 10 to 10:30 p.m., at mid-eclipse, according to the Griffith Observatory. Although the eclipse will be visible to the naked eye, binoculars or small telescopes can be used to enhance viewing. Unlike a solar eclipse, it is safe to look at a lunar eclipse.

The Griffith Observatory will be open until 12:30 a.m. to view the eclipse. Telescopes for public viewing will be provided by local astronomy clubs, including the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. Call (213) 664-1191 or the Sky Report at (213) 663-8171.

Other organizations offering lunar eclipse viewing include:

* Los Angeles Valley College astronomy program will have telescopes set up near the planetarium beginning at 8 p.m. The school’s 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflecting telescope will also be available for viewing. Call (818) 781-1200, Ext. 335.

* Excelsior Telescope Club in Lakewood will have telescopes set up at the athletic field of St. Pancratius School near South Street and Downey Avenue. Call (310) 634-6111.

* The Local Group, an astronomy club in the Santa Clarita Valley, will have telescopes set up for viewing at the Templin Highway observation site north of Castaic beginning at 6 p.m. Call (805) 259-9217 or (805) 297-2612.

* The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will have a lunar eclipse watch at the Palmer Observatory beginning at 8:30 p.m. Call (805) 682-3224.

MATHEMATICS

* “Fermat’s Last Theorem” will be discussed by Dinakar Ramakrishnan, a Caltech professor of mathematics, today at 4:15 p.m. in 151 Sloan on the Caltech campus. Call (818) 395-4652.

ENVIRONMENT

* People in Palm Springs can walk off some of their Thanksgiving dinner in two field trips led by Palm Springs Desert Museum staffers on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s trip will explore the freshwater ponds of Thousand Palms Oasis in an easy walk beginning at 9 a.m. On Saturday, Palm Canyon will be the destination, where an easy hike--again beginning at 9 a.m.--leads to the largest Desert Fan Palm oasis in the world. Call (619) 325-7186.

SCIENCE FOR KIDS

* Children 5 and older can perform simple science experiments and find “pollution solutions” in workshops offered by Kidspace Museum on Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Call (818) 449-9144.

ASTRONOMY

* Astronomer Neil Comins will engage in a bit of speculative astronomy and examine the importance of the moon to life on Earth in “What If the Moon Didn’t Exist: Voyages to Earths That Might Have Been,” at the Griffith Observatory on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in a program co-sponsored by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Call (213) 744-3534 for reservations.