April 2014 lunar eclipse: Difference between revisions
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{{Current event}} |
{{Current event}} |
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A total [[lunar eclipse]] is currently taking place on 15 April 2014. It is the former of two total lunar eclipses in 2014, and the first in a [[ |
A total [[lunar eclipse]] is currently taking place on 15 April 2014. It is the former of two total lunar eclipses in 2014, and the first in a [[Eclipse cycle#Eclipse cycles|tetrad]] (four total lunar eclipses in series). Subsequent eclipses in the tetrad are those of [[October 2014 lunar eclipse|8 October 2014]], [[April 2015 lunar eclipse|4 April 2015]], and [[September 2015 lunar eclipse|28 September 2015]]. |
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The April 15 eclipse will be visible in the [[Pacific Ocean]] region, including [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], as well as the [[Americas]]. The moon will pass south of the center of the Earth's shadow. As a result, the northern part of the moon will be noticeably darker than the southern part. It will occur during the ascending phase of the moon's orbit, part of [[Saros (astronomy)|lunar saros]] 122. |
The April 15 eclipse will be visible in the [[Pacific Ocean]] region, including [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], as well as the [[Americas]]. The moon will pass south of the center of the Earth's shadow. As a result, the northern part of the moon will be noticeably darker than the southern part. It will occur during the ascending phase of the moon's orbit, part of [[Saros (astronomy)|lunar saros]] 122. |
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Revision as of 10:42, 15 April 2014
| Total lunar eclipse April 15, 2014 | |
|---|---|
 The moon passes right to left through the Earth's shadow | |
| Gamma | -0.3017 |
| Duration (hr:mn:sc) | |
| Totality | 1:17:48 |
| Partial | 3:34:43 |
| Penumbral | 5:43:54 |
| Contacts (UTC) | |
| P1 | 4:53:40 |
| U1 | 5:58:19 |
| U2 | 7:06:46 |
| Greatest | 7:46:48 |
| U3 | 8:24:34 |
| U4 | 9:33:02 |
| P4 | 10:37:33 |
 The lunar eclipse will occur in the constellation Virgo, near the star spica with the planet Mars near, slightly west on the ecliptic. | |
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
A total lunar eclipse is currently taking place on 15 April 2014. It is the former of two total lunar eclipses in 2014, and the first in a tetrad (four total lunar eclipses in series). Subsequent eclipses in the tetrad are those of 8 October 2014, 4 April 2015, and 28 September 2015.
The April 15 eclipse will be visible in the Pacific Ocean region, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Americas. The moon will pass south of the center of the Earth's shadow. As a result, the northern part of the moon will be noticeably darker than the southern part. It will occur during the ascending phase of the moon's orbit, part of lunar saros 122.
Background
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes within Earth's umbra (shadow). As the eclipse begins, the Earth's shadow first darkens the moon slightly. Then, the shadow begins to "cover" part of the moon, turning it a dark red-brown color (typically - the color can vary based on atmospheric conditions). The moon appears to be reddish due to Rayleigh scattering (the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by the Earth's atmosphere into its umbra. [1]
The following simulation shows the approximate appearance of the moon passing through the earth's shadow. The moon's brightness is exaggerated within the umbral shadow. The northern portion of the moon will be closest to the center of the shadow, making it darkest, and most red in appearance.
Description
On April 15, 2014, the moon will pass through the southern part of the Earth's umbral shadow.[2] It will be visible over most of the Western Hemisphere including east Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific ocean, and the Americas.[3] In the western Pacific, the first half of the eclipse will occur before moonrise. In Europe and Africa, the eclipse will begin just before moonset.[2] In North America, Mars will arguably be the most prominent object in the sky other than the moon, appearing 9.5° northwest of the moon.[3][2] Spica will be 2° to the west, while Arcturus will be 32° north. Saturn will be 26° east and Antares 44° southeast.[2]
Mars will be at opposition on April 8 and closest to earth on April 14, so the eclipse will also be an excellent time to observe Mars in a good telescope. It will be a minimum distance of 0.618 AU, the closest approach since 2007. With an apparent diameter of 15.2", Mars will appear as large in 120 power telescope as the moon will with the unaided eye.[4][5]
The moon will enter Earth's penumbral shadow at 4:54 UTC and the umbral shadow at 5:58. Totality will last for 1 hour 18 minutes, from 7:07 to 8:25. The moment of greatest eclipse will occur at 7:47. At that point, the Moon's zenith will be approximately 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) southwest of the Galapagos Islands. The moon will leave the umbra shadow at 9:33 and the penumbra shadow at 10:38.[2]
The umbral magnitude will peak at 1.2907. At that moment, the northern part of the moon will pass 1.7 arc-minutes south of the center of Earth's shadow, while the southern part will be 40.0 arc-minutes from center. Thus, the northern part of the moon will be noticeably darker. The moon's appearance will change significantly throughout the eclipse as the depth of the shadow changes. The gamma of the eclipse will be -0.3017.[2]
The eclipse will be a member of Lunar Saros 122. It will be the 56th such eclipse.[2]
| Geographic visibility |
|---|
|
| Timezone adjustments from UTC |
+12h | -9h | -8h | -7h | -6h | -5h | -4h | -3h | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZST | HADT | AKDT | PDT | MDT | CDT PET |
EDT BOT |
ADT AMST ART | |||
| Event | Evening April 15 | Evening April 14 | Morning April 15 | |||||||
| P1 | Penumbral begins* | N/A† | 7:54 pm | 8:54 pm | 9:54 pm | 10:54 pm | 11:54 pm | 12:54 am | 1:54 am | |
| U1 | Partial begins | 5:58 pm | 8:58 pm | 9:58 pm | 10:58 pm | 11:58 pm | 12:58 am | 1:58 am | 2:58 am | |
| U2 | Total begins | 7:07 pm | 10:07 pm | 11:07 pm | 12:07 am | 1:07 am | 2:07 am | 3:07 am | 4:07 am | |
| Mid-eclipse | 7:47 pm | 10:47 pm | 11:47 pm | 12:47 am | 1:47 am | 2:47 am | 3:47 am | 4:47 am | ||
| U3 | Total ends | 8:33 pm | 11:25pm | 12:25 am | 1:25 am | 2:25 am | 3:25 am | 4:25 am | 5:25 am | |
| U4 | Partial ends | 9:33 pm | 12:33 am | 1:33 am | 2:33 am | 3:33 am | 4:33 am | 5:33 am | 6:33 am | |
| P4 | Penumbral ends | 10:38 pm | 1:38 am | 2:38 am | 3:38 am | 4:38 am | 5:38 am | 6:38 am | 7:38 am | |
* The penumbral phase of the eclipse changes the appearance of the moon only slightly and is generally not noticeable.[6]
† Moon not visible during this part of eclipse in this time zone
Viewing events
Many museums and observatories are planning special events for the eclipse. The United States National Park Service is sponsoring events at Great Basin National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.[7] The University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy will hold events at two locations on the islands.[8] The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California will stream the eclipse live on the Internet.[3]
NASA will host two live question and answer sessions online. The first will happen roughly 12 hours before the eclipse via Reddit's Ask Me Anything. The second will be a web chat hosted on their site just before the eclipse begins. NASA will also stream the eclipse live on their website.[9] NASA TV will provide 3 hours of live coverage beginning at 2 a.m. EDT.[10]
Gallery
-
Simulation of earth from moon, 7:47 UTC -
Pre-eclipse full moon, 3:50 UTC -
Partial Phase, 6:30 UTC
Related eclipses
The April 15 eclipse is the first eclipse in a tetrad; that is, four consecutive total eclipses with no partial eclipses in between. There will be one eclipse every six lunar cycles during the tetrad - on October 8 2014, April 4 2015, and September 28 2015.[3] The lunar year series repeats after 12 cycle, or 354 days, causing a date shift when compared to the solar calendar. This shift mean the Earth's shadow will move about 11 degrees west in each subsequent eclipse.
This tetrad will start during the ascending node of the Moon's orbit. It is the first tetrad since the 2003–04 series, which started in May. The next series will be from 2032 to 2033, starting in April.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 2013–2016 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||||
| Saros | Viewing date |
Type | Gamma | Saros | Viewing date |
Type | Gamma | |
112
|
2013 Apr 25
|
Partial
|
−1.0121 | 117_(cropped).jpg)
|
2013 Oct 18
|
Penumbral
|
1.1508 | |
122
|
2014 Apr 15
|
Total
|
−0.3017 | 127
|
2014 Oct 08
|
Total
|
0.3827 | |
132
|
2015 Apr 04
|
Total
|
0.4460 | 137
|
2015 Sep 28
|
Total
|
−0.3296 | |
| 142 | 2016 Mar 23
|
Penumbral
|
1.1592 | 147.jpg)
|
2016 Sep 16
|
Penumbral
|
−1.0549 | |
| Last set | 2013 May 25 | Last set | 2012 Nov 28 | |||||
| Next set | 2017 Feb 11 | Next set | 2016 Aug 18 | |||||
Prophecy
According to the Blood Moon Prophecy popularized by Christian pastors John Hagee and Mark Biltz, the April 15 eclipse is a sign of significant change to come.[3] Starting in 2008, Biltz began teaching that the Second Coming of Jesus would occur at the end of the tetrad. Hagee takes a softer stance, saying only that the tetrad is a sign of something significant.[11] The idea gained popular media attention, appearing in newspapers such as USA Today.[3] It was criticized by many Christian writers as being unlikely from a religious perspective.[11] In a FAQ on the subject, the scientific radio show Earth & Sky called the use of the term "blood moon" to describe a tetrad as a recent invention that had no scientific basis.[12] According to Christian Today, only a "small group of Christians" see the eclipse as having religious significance.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus. "Visual Appearance of Lunar Eclipses". NASA.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Espenek, Fred. "Eclipses During 2014". NASA. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Elizabeth Weise (April 3, 2014). "Blood moon eclipse on April 15 is a special event". USA Today. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Sneak peek and quick observing guide to April's opposition of Mars". Astro Bob. 3 February 2014.
- ^ Beish, Jeffrey D. (12 April 2013). "The 2013-2014 Aphelic Apparition of Mars". alpo-astronomy.org.
- ^ Espenak, Fred. "Lunar Eclipses for Beginners". MrEclipse. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ Jim Burnett. "Parks Can Offer A Great Setting For Viewing Upcoming Total Lunar Eclipses". National Parks Traveler. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- ^ "Institute for Astronomy holds lunar eclipse viewing parties" (Press release). University of Hawaii. April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- ^ "Stay 'Up All Night' to Watch the Lunar Eclipse!". NASA. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- ^ "NASA to Provide Live Coverage and Commentary of April 15 Lunar Eclipse". NASA.
- ^ a b David R. Reagan. "The Blood Moon Mania:Legitimate Sign or Hype?". Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ Bruce McClure; Deborah Byrd (March 30, 2014). "What is a Blood Moon?". Earth & Sky. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ Samantha Blake (April 5, 2014). "Lunar Eclipse April 15, 2014: Four Blood Moons a sign of End Times?". Christian Today. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
External links
- 2014 Apr 15 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- NASA LRO April 2014 Lunar Eclipse Animations
- Hermit eclipse: 2014-04-15
- April 15: Total Lunar Eclipse Sky and Telescope
- Animation of the April 14/15 2014 eclipse at shadowandsubstance.com
- Online live view of the Eclipse at virtualtelescope.eu
_(cropped).jpg)
