Total Lunar Eclipse tonight @3am EST for North America

[bhodi]

You know, where the sun passes between the moon and the earth. It's gonna be cool.

72 minutes long and it starts at 3am. Everyone in North America has a front seat, the UK can see it start.

More info here.

[Sky]

You know, where the sun passes between the moon and the earth. It's gonna be cool.

No, that would be HOT ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE

[Phry]

Too bad pretty much the entire USA is going to be covered in clouds

[Yoru]

Going to be windy, frigid and clear up here, so I'm getting up and going to work an hour earlier than usual so I can commute during totality (peaking at 8:17 AM GMT+0). I think it'll even occur while the moon is out over the ocean, so it won't be hidden by buildings. Wish I had a decent camera/telephoto lens, blood-red moon over churning sea would make for an awesome photo set.

[Merusk]

Too bad pretty much the entire USA is going to be covered in clouds

This. I'm irritated as hell.  Not only is it an eclipse but it's on the solstice which is cool for it's rarity. Plus the next one that will be this far north won't happen until 2485.   

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/dont-miss-upcoming-solstice-lunar-eclipse-on-december-20-or-21

[RhyssaFireheart]

Too bad pretty much the entire USA is going to be covered in clouds

This. I'm irritated as hell.  Not only is it an eclipse but it's on the solstice which is cool for it's rarity. Plus the next one that will be this far north won't happen until 2485.   

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/dont-miss-upcoming-solstice-lunar-eclipse-on-december-20-or-21

This.  So annoying to miss out on this longest night eclipse.  Stupid snow.

[01101010]

I am up and waiting this out. I always seem to miss the meteor showers and comets and other cool shit, but since I have nothing going down tomorrow....

edit: Fuck mother nature. Crystal clear out till 1:30...now nothing but cloud cover. figures....

[Nevermore]

Not a cloud in the sky here in Florida.  Moon looks beautiful!

[schild]

Went out to a large parking lot I know of, found the darkest spot where there weren't lights, and stretched out on cold concrete (next to a Red Robin, for the record) for a little over an hour.

Worth it.

[Merusk]

And none of you fuckers took pictures. 

Woke up on the off chance the clouds would have cleared.  Nope, Damnit.  Didn't even get a cool lighting effect, it just looked like a normal night on the snow.

[Sky]

Clouds got pretty orange here. But meh, clouds. I was hoping for some breaks, but the filthy liars at NWS saying it was going to be 70% coverage were filthy liars. Just like they lied about all the snow we were supposed to get. I want to be a weatherman, no matter how wrong you are, it doesn't matter.

[rattran]

I woke up for it. Heavy snow was still falling, so back to bed for me!

[bhodi]

Here is a video my friend took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v2k1X1LnwU

[Prospero]

I got to see it briefly in a break in the clouds. It was awfully nice of the rain to stop for 20 minutes so I could enjoy it.

[Strazos]

Here is a video my friend took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v2k1X1LnwU

Where's the color change?

[bhodi]

There is none, nor should there be?

Here's later http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAdqof6kBmM&feature=related

[Viin]

It turns orange during the total eclipse. I know, I saw it!

[bhodi]

Uh, it shouldn't be there at all during the total eclipse... :)

[WayAbvPar]

Got to see it partially occluded between breaks in the clouds, but went out to check near full occlusion and it was covered, so I went to bed. 

[Viin]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can see the earth's shadow up until the point of total eclipse and then the moon turns red, right? Does it then go dark? (I only viewed it for about 10 mins while it was red, so I missed the whole cycle).

From wikipedia, which, as you know, is always correct:

The Moon does not completely disappear as it passes through the umbra because of the refraction of sunlight by the Earth’s atmosphere into the shadow cone; if the Earth had no atmosphere, the Moon would be completely dark during an eclipse. The red coloring arises because sunlight reaching the Moon must pass through a long and dense layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, where it is scattered. Shorter wavelengths are more likely to be scattered by the air molecules and the small particles, and so by the time the light has passed through the atmosphere, the longer wavelengths dominate. This resulting light we perceive as red. This is the same effect that causes sunsets and sunrises to turn the sky a reddish color; an alternative way of considering the problem is to realize that, as viewed from the Moon, the Sun would appear to be setting (or rising) behind the Earth.

[Viin]

Here's a good image, from a 2008 total eclipse:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Lunar_Eclipse_02-20-08.jpg

[Typhon]

Uh, it shouldn't be there at all during the total eclipse... :)

I assumed that you were just joshing with the "sun passes between the moon and the earth", but given this post I'm starting to wonder so much that I cannot help but push reply.

The Earth's atmosphere refracts and scatters the light from the sun.  Because of this the color of the moon changes to red/orange during a lunar eclipse.  Depending upon how much crap (volcanic ash, for instance) is in the air, the moon changes to lighter/darker shades of red/orange.  There would have to be a great deal of crap in the atmosphere for the moon to go black.

[bhodi]

Yes, I know about Rayleigh scattering. Jeez, you guys.

[Viin]

It's ok, you can admit it, we will only laugh at you for a little while.