Australia will be treated to a total lunar eclipse early in the evening of Tuesday December 21 and the moon is expected to take on an eerie ‘reddish glow. “Lunar eclipses are one of the most spectacular sights in astronomy and one not to be missed,” said well known Australian astronomy expert, David Reneke, writer and publicist for Australasian Science magazine. Lunar eclipses occur when Earth gets between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow.

“The most impressive part starts when the Moon enters the earth’s shadow, and the eclipse begins,” David said. “Over the next hour or so, the Moon will start to change colour.” David is also an astronomy writer, lecturer and teacher and a featured guest on over 60 ABC and commercial radio stations across Australia each week.

According to David, for the eastern Australian states, the eclipse begins around sunset as the moon is rising. Everyone who can see the Moon will see the eclipse simultaneously. However, because of the differences between time zones, times of the event will be earlier in some states and a little later in others.

“People will see an amazing sight,” said David. “As the eclipse progresses, the Moon’s disc will take on an eerie coppery-red glow. This is because sunlight falling on the Moon has been filtered through the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, the Moon can take on a range of colours, anywhere from dark brown and red to bright orange and yellow.

The exact appearance depends on how much dust and clouds are present in the upper atmosphere at the time. The fully eclipsed moon won’t be totally dark – and that’s what makes totality delightful. Total eclipses tend to be redder after major volcanic eruptions or major bushfires since these events dump large amounts of volcanic ash into Earth’s atmosphere.

David said although we seldom see it, Earth has a shadow, much like your own – dark inside, pale outside, pointing away from the sun. Earth’s shadow stretches almost a two million kilometres into space, far enough to reach the moon. Astronauts on the Moon would see an amazing sight. They would actually see the Earth eclipsing the Sun! They would see a bright red ring around the Earth as they watched all the sunrises and sunsets happening simultaneously around the world!

David said that unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch. You don’t need any kind of protective filters. It isn’t even necessary to use a telescope. You can watch the lunar eclipse with nothing more than your own two eyes. If you have a pair of binoculars, they will help magnify the view and will make the red coloration brighter and easier to see. A standard pair of 7×50 or 10×50 binoculars works fine.

Why not make a night of it, grab the family and friends and get out under the stars, you won’t be sorry! For more information www.davidreneke.com