TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: 2007/08/28

There will be a total lunar eclipse on the evening of Tuesday 28 August (see our media release). Lunar eclipses arise from the alignment of the Sun, Earth and Moon – for this eclipse the alignment is near perfect.

This one will be somewhat unusual as observers on the west coast of Australia will see a totally eclipsed Moon rising.

The Moon will be fainter than normal and will be a little hard to find, weather permitting. It rises at 5:52pm on the eastern horizon and then moves higher to the north-east.

Rising Moons are typically tinted orange or red because the thick atmosphere close to the horizon preferentially passes red light. However, this Moon will probably be tinted a copper colour and be much fainter than usual because the Moon is passing through the Earth's shadow. The colouring of the Moon results from imperfect shadowing caused by sunlight being bent toward the Moon as is skims through the Earth's atmosphere.

Observers east of Perth can see more of the earlier stages of the eclipse and those on the east coast of Australia and in the Pacific region see the eclipse in its entirety.

The following table summarises the timing of the events associated with this eclipse.

Lunar eclipses are safe to view, and are best viewed with the unaided eye - but solar eclipses (where the Sun is obscured by the Moon) ARE NOT - never look at the Sun with the unaided eye or with an optical instrument.