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stevereecy
member
Reged: 09/15/05
Posts: 14
Loc: North Florida
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Hey all, Late in the evening in North Florida, I noticed that the bottom portion of the quarter moon looked somewhat darkened. I couldn't verify if it was being cut off by a cloud or not, but it looked unusual.
But today I got an e-mail from a friend who was 120 miles away from me and noticed the same thing on the same night.
Was there a partial lunar eclipse?
Steve
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Steven Reecy
12" Homebuilt Dob with GSO Optics
5.5" Comet Catcher
Binoculars
Eyes
"Filling the gaps with averted imagination"
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stevereecy
member
Reged: 09/15/05
Posts: 14
Loc: North Florida
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Nobody? Since what I saw was almost the midpoint between the solar eclipse and the upcoming almost full lunar eclipse, I realised that it was impossible for any kind of partial eclipse. But now I'm wondering if what I saw was a high altitude fuel dump or something that was visible from North Florida that drifted across the moon. Anybody see that? Friday, about 11:00 EST on 8/8/08.
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Steven Reecy
12" Homebuilt Dob with GSO Optics
5.5" Comet Catcher
Binoculars
Eyes
"Filling the gaps with averted imagination"
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 29970
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Not at all sure of what you might have seen. Lunar eclipses can only occur during full moon, so whatever was going on, it wasn't an eclipse.
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
"If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going." Professor Irwin Corey
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Centaur
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/12/04
Posts: 1113
Loc: Chicago
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Quote:
Was there a partial lunar eclipse?
Steven, there was no lunar eclipse on 2008 AUG 08 (astronomers use the International Date Format in which the year comes first). As Tom noted and you seem to realize, lunar eclipses only occur at the time of a Full Moon when the Moon is opposite the Sun as viewed from Earth, and the Earth’s shadow can fall on the Moon. On the 8th there was a Half Moon which occurred near the limit of its first quarter position. Quarter Moon is not really a proper term. First and last quarter refer to the position of the moon when it is a quarter of a circle (90°) from the Sun. Near those times the Moon appears 50% illuminated and is called a Half Moon. I’m not certain what caused the phenomenon you observed.
Most Full Moons do not result in eclipses since the Moon at those times usually passes a little north or south of the Earth’s shadow. However, the next Full Moon on 2008 AUG 16 will result in a partial eclipse with an umbral magnitude that I calculate by the French Rule to be 0.806, meaning 80.6% of the Moon’s diameter will be covered by the dark portion of Earth’s shadow. I predict the partial phase of the eclipse will begin at 19:36 UT and end at 22:44 UT. It will entirely occur while the Moon is beneath your horizon.
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For astronomical graphics, including
monthly wallpaper calendar, visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
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ibase
super member
Reged: 03/20/08
Posts: 108
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Quote:
Quote:
Was there a partial lunar eclipse?
Steven, there was no lunar eclipse on 2008 AUG 08 (astronomers use the International Date Format in which the year comes first). As Tom noted and you seem to realize, lunar eclipses only occur at the time of a Full Moon when the Moon is opposite the Sun as viewed from Earth, and the Earth’s shadow can fall on the Moon. On the 8th there was a Half Moon which occurred near the limit of its first quarter position. Quarter Moon is not really a proper term. First and last quarter refer to the position of the moon when it is a quarter of a circle (90°) from the Sun. Near those times the Moon appears 50% illuminated and is called a Half Moon. I’m not certain what caused the phenomenon you observed.
Most Full Moons do not result in eclipses since the Moon at those times usually passes a little north or south of the Earth’s shadow. However, the next Full Moon on 2008 AUG 16 will result in a partial eclipse with an umbral magnitude that I calculate by the French Rule to be 0.806, meaning 80.6% of the Moon’s diameter will be covered by the dark portion of Earth’s shadow. I predict the partial phase of the eclipse will begin at 19:36 UT and end at 22:44 UT. It will entirely occur while the Moon is beneath your horizon.
Here's a picture of the partail lunar eclipse 8/17/08 as seen in Manila, Philippines taken by my co-member Jett Aguilar of the Astronomical League of the Philippines
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kruno
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/10/05
Posts: 669
Loc: Croatia
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Nice picture... 
And a took some pictures with A530 and 102mm scope..
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Kruno
1x7 eyes
TS1021 102mm f/10 Achro
Olympus 10x50 DPS I
http://free-kr.t-com.hr/raptor/ (croatian only)
Edited by kruno (08/19/08 01:36 PM)
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ibase
super member
Reged: 03/20/08
Posts: 108
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Great timeline pics Kruno! 
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