WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 8, 6 to 9 p.m.
WHERE: UNL Student Observatory, Stadium Parking Garage, 10th & T Streets
Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 30, 2003 -- A total eclipse of the moon, and the planet Mars will be featured Saturday, Nov. 8, during the next public night at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Student Observatory.
The rising moon will enter the dark part of the earth's shadow a quarter of an hour after sunset and not finally leave it until around 9 p.m. The moon will only be completely immersed in the dark part of the shadow from 7:06 to 7:31 p.m. Although a telescope is not necessary for viewing a lunar eclipse, the UNL Student Observatory will be open for members of the public who would like to view the eclipse through a telescope. The planet Mars will also be featured.
"In ancient times people spoke of the moon 'turning to blood' during a lunar eclipse, but I do not expect this to be a very dark one," said UNL astronomer Martin Gaskell. "The moon is not going to penetrate very deeply into the earth's shadow, and the bottom of the moon will remain quite bright."
Gaskell said a lunar eclipse is a leisurely event, so there will be plenty of time during the eclipse to view Mars in the telescopes. Although it is almost twice as far away as it was during August, Mars is still closer than it will be until 2005. To the unaided eye, Mars is the very bright orange object in the southern evening sky. If the Earth's atmosphere is steady, the telescopes of the observatory will reveal on Mars the dark markings on its deserts, its now tiny summer polar ice cap, clouds forming, and perhaps some dust storm activity.
There is no charge for admission to the observatory and children of all ages are particularly welcome. Visitors are advised to dress warmly as the observatory is unheated. The observatory is located on the roof of the Stadium Parking Garage, 10th and T streets.
The next public night will be a Saturn viewing on Dec. 5. For more information about the Student Observatory contact Gaskell by phone at (402) 472-4788, by e-mail, or visit the observatory's Web site.
CONTACT: Martin Gaskell, Senior Lecturer, Physics & Astronomy, (402) 472-4788
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Posted by Tom Simons, Office of University Communications
Phone: (402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825