Total Lunar Eclipse - Afterward Extreme Brightness - Jan 20-21

[CentaurZ]

A Total Lunar Eclipse can be seen by those with clear skies in the Americas during the evening of Sunday 2019 JAN 20. Many in Europe should be able to witness totality during the predawn hours of Monday 2019 JAN 21.

I’ve calculated that after the Moon leaves the penumbra it will be the brightest Moon since 2001 JAN 09-10 and until 2096 NOV 29-30. This is due to the confluence of the Moon being near Perigee, Perihelion and Ecliptic. Some in the media have been hyping this as a so-called SuperMoon for being near Perigee. But they have been overlooking the Perihelion and Ecliptic factors that will make this Full Moon especially bright when just outside of the Earth’s shadow.

Below is a preview graphic I created for the eclipse as seen against an imaginary blue wall to make the shadow fully apparent. The predicted event timings are in CST (UT-6), but will occur at essentially the same real time for all observers experiencing nighttime. The depicted orientation and Moon altitudes are for an observer in Chicago.

Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread.

 

[Ruud]

For me it's going to be an early morning eclipse. Maximum is around 6:13AM. I plan to use my 8x binoculars and my refractor at 14.7x.

In the binoculars I expect something like this:

It looks like it might be cloudy though, it may even snow, but I keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Thalestris24]

Should start about 03:40 here in Glasgow, looking to the West and at a bearing of about 246 deg. ending at about 06:50 at a bearing of about 284 deg.  I'd like to say I'll image it but I know it will be cloudy!

Louise

[CentaurZ]

On 13/01/2019 at 13:52, Ruud said:

For me it's going to be an early morning eclipse. Maximum is around 6:13AM. I plan to use my 8x binoculars and my refractor at 14.7x.

In the binoculars I expect something like this:

It looks like it might be cloudy though, it may even snow, but I keep my fingers crossed.

 

Nice rendering. I hope you actually get to see it.

[CentaurZ]

On 13/01/2019 at 15:15, Thalestris24 said:

Should start about 03:40 here in Glasgow, looking to the West and at a bearing of about 246 deg. ending at about 06:50 at a bearing of about 284 deg.  I'd like to say I'll image it but I know it will be cloudy!

Louise

Not a great hour for you, but at least it won't be around 0°F like here in Chicagoland. I've heard that banging drums may keep the clouds away. ?

[Thalestris24]

42 minutes ago, CentaurZ said:

Not a great hour for you, but at least it won't be around 0°F like here in Chicagoland. I've heard that banging drums may keep the clouds away. ?

I'm not bothered by the time but it looks like staying cloudy anyway...

Louise

[Ruud]

It's going to be clear here and three degrees below zero, so I set the alarm for five (that's local time, we use our own time here). Maximum eclipse is about an hour later.

Dutch radio informed the nation: We'll have an eclipsed Super Blood Wolf Moon. They're trying hard to turn us into imbeciles. BBC World Service, btw, reported about the Chinese lander on the Dark Side of the Moon a few days ago. The journalist kept repeating Dark Side, even though the scientist called it the Far Side all along. Scientific idiocy is  a well established international trend among journalists.

Ah well, nobody cares anyway. I hope you'll get a gap in the clouds!

[CentaurZ]

5 hours ago, Ruud said:

It's going to be clear here and three degrees below zero, so I set the alarm for five (that's local time, we use our own time here). Maximum eclipse is about an hour later.

Dutch radio informed the nation: We'll have an eclipsed Super Blood Wolf Moon. They're trying hard to turn us into imbeciles. BBC World Service, btw, reported about the Chinese lander on the Dark Side of the Moon a few days ago. The journalist kept repeating Dark Side, even though the scientist called it the Far Side all along. Scientific idiocy is  a well established international trend among journalists.

Ah well, nobody cares anyway. I hope you'll get a gap in the clouds!

My career was in TV news, nevertheless I have always been rather well informed on scientific matters. However, I am reminded of an older colleague who observed a crescent Moon one morning for which its dark portion was dimly light by earthshine. He asked me if this was due to the Moon being eclipsed. I do give credit to Alistair MacLean who wrote the screenplay for Where Eagles Dare in which Richard Burton said, "And the chap they've got knows no more about the second front than I know about the back end of the Moon." No mention of the "dark" side.

[Guest]

Popped out to have a peek but no show here in Belfast.