Lights Out: A Total Eclipse of the Moon will put UA Astronomers in the Dark

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s last public astronomy viewing of the semester will go out under a shroud of darkness with a total eclipse of the moon on May 15 from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m.

During the eclipse, UA astronomers will be available to answer questions and discuss the importance of such eclipses in the history and study of astronomy.

While this event is free and open to the public, interested parties do not have to watch the eclipse from the top of Gallalee Hall; the naked eye won’t have any trouble seeing the eclipse. Watchers from UA’s vantage point will have the added benefit of viewing other interesting objects in the night sky through the observatory’s 10-inch refracting telescope.

For home sky gazers, any reasonably dark place will work for viewing the eclipse. The moon will be visible rising in the east as the sun sets in the west. It will rise higher and to the south in the sky as the night and the eclipse progresses.

The moon will begin to enter the lighter part (penumbra) of Earth’s shadow shortly after 8 p.m. CDT. This portion of the eclipse is not particularly spectacular, and it won’t be until the moon starts to enter the dark part (umbra) of the shadow at 9:03 p.m., that the darkening will become much more obvious.

Sky gazers will see a bite taken out of the left (east) side of the moon as it enters the umbra moving eastward in its orbital motion around the Earth. This eclipse is “total,” meaning the moon will be totally in the umbra from 10:14 p.m. to 11:06 p.m.

Depending on worldwide weather conditions, the moon may appear almost invisible while in the umbra or as a deep red color as the Earth’s atmosphere bends light into the dark part of the shadow. As the moon leaves the umbra there will be a reverse sequence of what was visible earlier as the moon entered the shadow.

By 12:17 a.m. the moon will be completely out of the umbra and out of the penumbra at 2:15 a.m., which will be the end for this eclipse.

This is the last public viewing of the spring semester. Gallalee Hall is located on the UA campus near the intersection of Hackberry Lane and University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa. For more information about eclipses or studying astronomy, see http://crux.astr.ua.edu/AlabamaHome.html or contact UA’s department of physics and astronomy at 205/348-5050.

The College of Arts and Sciences is UA’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state, with approximately 5,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. The College has received national recognition for academic excellence, and A&S students have been selected for many of the nation’s top academic honors, including 15 Rhodes Scholarships, 13 Goldwater Scholarships, seven Truman Scholarships and 15 memberships on USA Today’s Academic All-American teams.