This is NOT an April Fool's joke!

Really!  I promise!  This is a real post, and not a joke!

I wanted to let you all know about a really cool event coming up in a couple weeks...and I'm giving you that much time to prepare, because, well...you might need it.

It's been a long, long time since we had a really awesome lunar eclipse event here at the museum.  I love our "Total Luna-See" parties...we have a great time, see the Moon turn an amazing color, and generally it's pretty much a party atmosphere all night long!

Sadly, we won't be doing that for the upcoming lunar eclipse.  Why?  Because the darn thing happens at 3AM!  On a Tuesday morning!

How we get lunar eclipses - the Earth must pass directly between the Sun and the Moon.  Image by Fred Espenak.  Courtesy NASA.

Yep, that's right, on April 15th - the all-glorious Tax Day here in the U.S. - at the ungodly hour of about 2AM on the East Coast - the Full Moon will quietly begin sliding into the shadow of the Earth.  Like most shadows, the Earth's shadow is not completely devoid of light - the atmosphere of the Earth scatters from red light from the sunrises and sunsets happening around the world at the time into the shadow, turning the Moon a beautiful reddish color.  How reddish really depends on the state of the atmosphere.  If the air is relatively clean and clear, the Moon will indeed appear an almost blackish-red.  If there's a lot of dust or other pollutants in the air, a coppery or even orangey-red Moon could result.

The Moon during a lunar eclipse.  The center image is the moment of total eclipse, showing the Moon an intense red color.  The two side images are from a time when the Moon was not yet totally in the darkest part of the Earth's shadow.  Images by Fred Espenak.  Courtesy NASA.

One thing's for sure, if you want to see what color the Moon turns this time around...you'll need to be a very dedicated astronomy buff.  The eclipse will peak at around 3AM  By around 5AM, the event will be coming to an end.  So it means spending a long night outside...on a weekday.  Before work.  Or school.  Or whatever else an average Tuesday on which your tax forms are due might bring you.

*sigh*

Soooo...maybe this won't be the best lunar eclipse to get outside to try to see.  That's okay...we've got three more chances coming up over the next year and a half.

The April 15th eclipse is the first of a tetrad - a group of four successive total lunar eclipses.  Amazingly, all four will be at least somewhat visible in the United States!  The next one in this series will be on October 8, 2014...and for the East Coast, will occur as the Moon is setting.

Well, phooey.

Maybe we'll have better luck in 2015. 

Again, I say - this is NOT an April Fool's joke!  But if you'd like one, check this out.

Until next time...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

I am very sorry, sir, I am behind my time...

It's only once a year, sir, it shall not be repeated.  I was making rather merry yesterday, sir.

Bob Cratchit from Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott.  One of my favorite versions of the classic Christmas tale. 

Happy New Year!  Like Bob Cratchit, I am behind my time (by a day) and was making rather merry yesterday.  And in the process of welcoming 2014, I discovered something amazing.

For many years I have extolled the virtues of getting away from people to enjoy the sky.  Well, more specifically, people's lights.  The city is a terrible place to do astronomy...few stars can be seen, and finding a spot with open sky can prove challenging to say the least.  So I often recommend that folks go somewhere else to see the stars.  Areas with little population (Casper Mountain in Wyoming has astounding skies!), the desert southwest of the United States (my Dad, who loved to hike the Grand Canyon, bought a tent with a special skylight in it for stargazing...he said the sky from down in the canyon was the most incredible thing he'd ever seen), out on the water far away from shore (but not on most cruise ships, which are lit up like bonfires), and other such far away destinations have been my suggestion to people looking to see more of the sky than they usually do.

Or, you could drive about an hour west of Richmond.  No, really!

We generally spend New Year's Eve in a cabin at Bear Creek Lake State Park.  It's wonderful to get away from it all (there's no cell service or internet out there either!) and just enjoy some time with family and friends.  Most years, the sky has been cloudy...especially if I go through the trouble of packing my telescope.  This year, I said the heck with it, and left it home.

On New Year's Eve night we went out to build a fire and make s'mores (always a hit with the kids).  My friend suddenly said "Hey, look at the Milky Way!"

I looked up and almost fell over.

The sky was cold and clear and the air unmoving.  It was deep black, and spangled everywhere with stars so bright they seemed to leap out of the sky at me.  Jupiter shone like a beacon...for a moment, I was disoriented...I thought it was Venus, it seemed so bright to me!  As my eyes adjusted, I could see more and more faint stars playing in the background of the sky...and indeed, the lovely swath of the Milky Way, arcing high above us.  I wasted no time bemoaning my lack of a telescope - I simply took my daughter aside and we looked for constellations.  We spotted a couple of satellites and caught a few meteors in the bargain.  It was breathtaking, delightful, dizzying, and altogether awesome.

So here's my recommendation to you for a new year's resolution - make a reservation and stay at a State or National Park near you sometime this year.  You probably won't have to even travel very far!  Many parks offer traditional camping (bring your own tent) or cabins for rent (very reasonably priced, and come with all the comforts of home like heat, AC, and indoor plumbing!).  Some even have yurts (I hear they can be tons of fun!).  You can make reservations online at Reserve America.  It's great way to get some time away, bond with family and friends, explore your local area, and rediscover the sky.  Trust me, you'll love it.

One of the cabins at Bear Creek Lake State Park in Virginia.  Yes, it's as awesome as it looks.  Image by Tracey Shaffer courtesy Reserve America.

Here's hoping that 2014 is truly a stellar year for us all.
See you in two weeks, and until then...
Carpe Noctem!
Kelly