A Sight Tonight: Full Eclipse of the Harvest Moon

A total eclipse of the moon will be visible across Southern California tonight.

Those with a view of the eastern horizon near sunset will be treated to the haunting sight of the rising harvest moon--the full moon closest to the autumn equinox--in partial eclipse, it’s lower left half “missing.”

From Los Angeles, the partially eclipsed moon will rise at 6:37 p.m. At 6:44 the sun will set. The moon will be fully eclipsed from 7:19 until 8:29 p.m.

The best viewing will be during the middle of the eclipse, about 8 p.m. when the moon will be most deeply within the Earth’s shadow, according to the Griffith Observatory. Unlike a total solar eclipse, it is safe to look directly at a total lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and the moon align, the Earth’s shadow obscuring the face of the full moon.

Even in total eclipse, the moon rarely disappears altogether. The normally bright orb can take on a ghostly appearance, reddening against the dark sky.

Light refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere can infuse the eclipsed disk of the moon with colors ranging from a washed-out orange to burnt copper or the “blood red” moon of myth.

A bonus with tonight’s event will be the bright appearance of Saturn, only 2 degrees to the lower right of the moon. Binoculars or a small telescope will enhance the view.

The next total lunar eclipse visible in North America will not occur until 2000.

To our ancestors, a lunar eclipse was a harbinger of death and destruction. Many myths grew from the sight of the full moon seemingly being devoured by unknown and unseen beasts.

Men would howl at the moon to scare off the demons; others would bang pots and pans.

Even today some people hold fast to supernatural beliefs about the eclipse.

“In some parts of the world, India and Southeast Asia particularly, superstition is still very deep,” said John Mosley, an astronomer at the Griffith Observatory.

In 1504, Christopher Columbus used information he had gleaned from his almanac to intimidate the indigenous people in Jamaica, according to Mosley.

Columbus, Mosley said, told the natives: “The God who protects me will punish you. . . . This very night his vengeance will fall upon you and the moon shall change her color and lose her light.”

At mid-eclipse, Columbus told the terrified Jamaicans he would put a stop to the celestial catastrophe if they would continue to help him, Mosley said.

Today, the myths have given way to more practical pursuits. Astronomers have studied lunar eclipses for evidence of ozone layer degradation and global warming.

Nevertheless, Mosley said, lunar eclipses are not considered major scientific events. “It’s an aesthetic thing, it’s pretty and you feel a little more connected with the cosmos,” he said.

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To view tonight’s total lunar eclipse or to get information:

* The Griffith Observatory’s Web page: www.griffithobs.org/SkyEclipse.html

* The observatory will be open until 10 p.m. Telescopes for the public will be provided by local astronomy groups. Bring binoculars if you have them. Program information: (213) 664-1191. Sky Report: (213) 663-8171.

* The public library’s Benjamin Franklin branch at 2200 E. 1st St. will have a telescope set up from 7 to 8 p.m. (213) 263-6901.

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Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse will occur this evening when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon. The moon darkens as it passes into the Earth’s shadow.

6:37 p.m. The moon rises in partial eclipse.

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7:19 p.m. Total eclipse begins, the moon is completely within the earth’s umbra, the darkest portion of the shadow. Watch for Saturn to the lower right of the moon.

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7:54 p.m. Eclipse reaches maximum. The best viewing occurs for the next 15 minutes.

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8:29 p.m. Total eclipse ends.

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9:36 p.m. The moon leaves the last portion of the umbra.

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10:36 p.m. The moon leaves the penumbra, the outer part of the earth’s shadow.

Source: Griffith Observatory, AP