Come See the Total Lunar Eclipse from UA’s Gallalee Hall

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –The University of Alabama’s astronomy department will hold a free public sky viewing of a total lunar eclipse on Saturday, Nov. 8 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Dr. Ray White, professor of astronomy, will give a brief lecture on the roof of Gallalee Hall until the moon rises enough to be viewed through the refracting telescope in the dome.

In the Tuscaloosa area, the moon will rise while eclipsed. The whole umbral, or shadowed phase of the eclipse, runs from 5:32 p.m. until 9:04 p.m. with a total lunar eclipse over a shorter period, 7:06 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

This is the second total eclipse of the moon this year. The first occurred on the night of May 15-16. This event will be visible from the United States, Europe and most of Africa. The next lunar eclipse seen from the eastern United States will be on Oct. 28-29, 2004.

Gallalee Hall is located on the UA campus near the intersection of Hackberry Lane and University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa. This is the fourth public viewing of the fall semester. Contact UA’s department of physics and astronomy at 205/348-5050 to check on sky conditions and for more information.

UA’s department of physics and astronomy is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state, with approximately 5,500 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students. The College has received national recognition for academic excellence, and the College’s students have been selected for many of the nation’s top academic honors, including 13 Rhodes Scholarships, 14 Goldwater Scholarships, seven Truman Scholarships, and 15 memberships on USA Today’s Academic All-American teams.