by mattelk
While the actual eclipse begins at 18:25, unfortunately the moon will be below the horizon. In the UK we will not get to see the eclipse until it rises at 21:13.
Totality of this eclipse will last from 20:22 until 22:03 with mid-eclipse being at 21:15, and the moon will exit the umbra (the central dark core of the Earth’s shadow) at 23:02, and finally exits the shadow at 00:01.
Unfortunately, the weather conditions in the UK are looking like they won’t be ideal for viewing the eclipse, with cloud forecast across most of the country, however there is a way you can see this event; the internet based telescope network SLOOH has teamed up with Google to broadcast the eclipse live from 3 different telescopes around the world (South Africa, Dubai and Cyprus) from either your browser or your Android powered smartphone
Live lunar eclipse streaming via SLOOH/Google (Browser Version)
I’ll be outside with my camera with its new lens (Canon EF 70-300) and a 1.4x teleconvertor setup on a tripod to see if I can catch any decent pictures, as I’m sure other members of Sky-Watching will be. Stay tuned for our results over the next couple of days.
All times noted are BST (GMT +1)
As yaska77 has pointed out to me, there may be a little confusion over times and what is actually happening, some places take the start of the eclipse from penumbral entrance and some from umbral entrance, so I have knocked up this little table to help everyone out:
| Time | Event | Description |
| 18:25 | Moon enters penumbra | Moon enters the very outer edge of the earths shadow, very minor darkening begins. |
| 19:23 | Moon enters umbra | Moon enters the earth shadow proper, full darkening of the moon begins. |
| 20:22 | Totality begins | Moon has fully entered the earths shadow and is in full eclipse. |
| 21:13 | Mid-Eclipse | Halfway through total eclipse. |
| 22:03 | Totality ends | Moon starts to exit the earths shadow and return to full brightness. |
| 23:02 | Moon exits umbra | Moon has exited the earth shadow proper and is only partially dimmed. |
| 00:01 | Moon exits penumbra | Moon returns to full brightness. |
Filed under: mattelk, Moon, Night sky, Resources Tagged: 15th June, 2011, Android, earth's shadow, eclipse, google, lunar, mattelk, Moon, postaweek2011, skywatching, slooh, SMARTPHONE, total, UK, viewing, watching
