Lunar Eclipse

[Guest guest]

I suffered the cold to take pictures last night. Well worth watching

as the shadow cast a slightly reddish tinge over the surface. The

moon was full and hazy this morning and my son said when he looked

out his window he, in a sleepy state thought it was the sun until he

thought about it and realized it was in the west.

Kim

Cold doesn't deter astronomy buffs on night of lunar eclipse

Frigid temperatures don't deter astronomy buffs, as clear night and

aligned orbs offer rare view of moon

8:45 p.m. CT (Tribune photo / Phil Velasquez / February 20, 2008)

By Mitchum | Tribune reporter

February 21, 2008

From young would-be astronauts to curious college students to note-

taking hobbyists, hundreds of Chicagoans fought the frigid February

air outside the Adler Planetarium to gaze at Wednesday night's

eclipse, the last total lunar eclipse until December 2010.

As a shadow slowly spread across the bright, full moon, darkening the

ivory white to a rusty orange, lakefront observers craned their necks

and blew on icy fingers. Many turned telescopes, binoculars and

camera lenses toward the spectacular night-sky display over Lake

Michigan, hoping to view the rare event more closely.

Some of the younger attendees gave their own astronomy equipment a

trial run with the rare, cosmic event, including 10-year-old Arthur

Sredni, who chattered about lunar modules while his father, Jacques,

tried to find the moon in their telescope.

Video

" It's a nice day for an eclipse, " Arthur said. " We are freezing

though. Why couldn't it be in summer or something? "

The event held deeper meaning for observers like Carol Gloor, 62, of

Chicago, who journeyed out to the planetarium in memory of her

recently deceased father, an amateur astronomer.

" It's been the best night of winter, " she said. " It's so moving to

see the shadow of the Earth here projected up there. "

Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth is perfectly positioned between

the sun and a full moon, causing Earth to throw its shadow across the

lunar surface. During the eclipse, the thin ring of sunlight that

remains around the Earth can create a spectacular show of color on

the moon, with hues varying from copper orange to brick red, Adler

Planetarium astronomer Larry Ciupik said.

" Eclipses range from being totally invisible to being quite bright, "

Ciupik said. " It's an interesting way of looking at what is in the

atmosphere of the Earth. The darkness of eclipse can be related to

the health or the amount of dust in Earth's air. "

Etalaya Damiani of Tinley Park responded to the moon's gradual change

of color in more emotional terms.

" It's one of the most incredible, ethereal, magical, enchanting

experiences one can ever experience, " she said.

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