Cosmological spectacles and astronomical phenomena will highlight the October skies. After three consecutive super-moons this 2014, more sky mysteries will be witnessed as a total lunar eclipse will occur on Oct. 8, Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning before sunrise, the moon will wrap itself in reddish, copper shades due to a total lunar eclipse in the western skies. The total lunar eclipse or "Blood Moon" that will be experienced on Oct. 8 is the second in the lunar eclipse tetrad, which is a series of four total eclipses.
In an article posted on Kansas.com, the first of the four eclipses was photographed in the early morning hours of April 15, 2014 at an informal star party and eclipse viewing next to the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium at Science City in Kansas City. The next three lunar eclipses will be on Oct. 8; April 4, 2015; and Sept. 28, 2015.
According to renowned eclipse expert Fred Espenak, lunar eclipses are safe to watch unlike solar eclipses. On his Web site, EclipseWise, solar and lunar eclipses predictions are detailed there. Diagrams, detailed information, tables and maps for the recent and upcoming eclipses are also showed including the Oct. 8, 2014 total lunar eclipse.
Wichita State University's Fairmount Center for Science and Mathematics Education Assistant Director Robert Henry said that lunar and solar eclipses occur twice a year however, we don't always get to see them. The lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun.
According to Robert Henry, when a full moon passes above or below the Earth's shadow, no eclipse occurs but when the moon's orbit takes it through the shadow of the Earth, then an eclipse happen. The total lunar eclipse that will be seen on Wednesday morning may make for a remarkable eclipse. If the weather permits, the moon will make its next appearance on the cosmological center stage just before sunrise from the Pittsburg area.
According to post-gazette.com, in about two weeks, the moon will seem to take a bite from the sun during a partial solar eclipse that will occur Oct. 23, 2014, not long before sunset. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun as seen from Earth.
With several lunar activities that occurred this 2014, some may think if it's a sign or omen of sorts. But Carnegie Science Center's Buhl Planetarium and Observatory Director Brendan Mullan said that it is not so.
"There's nothing mystical about it... These events are predicable. They can just bunch up from time to time... every once in a while, you get lucky," Mullan stated.
The total lunar eclipse on Wednesday will require some early morning rising. The eclipse will enter the penumbra stage at 15 minutes past 3 in the morning. But the total eclipse begins at 6:25 am, which the moon consumes itself wholly in crimson making it a "Blood Moon."
If you miss the total lunar eclipse on Wednesday, then you'll have to wait until April 4, 2015 but if you miss the partial solar eclipse on Oct. 23, then you'll have to wait for quite a long time because the next eclipse will not be until 2017.
