Elipse on Full Moon New Year Eve tonight visible wouldwide - BAD SIGN?

[COW flu]

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/1074104.html

Partial eclipse of a blue moon expected this morning

HARD TO SEE: Clouds could obscure event just before 11 a.m.

By DEBRA McKINNEY
[email protected]

Published: December 31st, 2009 01:01 AM
Last Modified: December 31st, 2009 04:21 AM

Alaskans will have the chance to send off the old year and welcome the new one with more than the usual fireworks in the sky. Not only will the final day of 2009 feature a "blue moon," but the chance to see a partial lunar eclipse.


The partial eclipse should be most visible in the Anchorage area around moonset, at 10:38 a.m., but generally between 9:52 and 10:52 on Thursday morning, according to Louise Fode, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

"I don't know how dramatic the eclipse will be," she said. "With partial eclipses, sometimes they can be difficult to see."

Seeing the eclipse at all, of course, will depend on the weather, and the forecast is for partially cloudy skies, with a chance of fog rolling in from Cook Inlet.


A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is partially darkened by the Earth's shadow.

A blue moon is when a second full moon occurs in a month. This will be the first time in nearly 20 years there's been a blue moon for New Year's Eve, and it won't happen again until 2028.

 

[COW flu]

http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/583494

Full moon's luster to be lost during Thursday's lunar eclipse

Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 31st December, 2009 (ANI)

New Delhi, Dec 31 : The sky watchers will find lunar radiance rather dim on a full blue moon on Thursday, as the country will on look a partial lunar eclipse.

Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) Director C B Devgun said, "A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon passes through the umbra, or the darkest part of Earth's shadow."

C B Devgun added, the astronomical event will also be observed in all of Asia and Europe, major parts of Africa and small portion of southwestern Australia.

Devgun further said the whole of India would be able to witness the beginning, middle and the ending of the eclipse.

Nehru Planetarium Director N Rathnasree claimed the eclipse would begin when the Moon enters penumbra at 10:47 PM and end at 02:58:11 AM.

Although the partial phase of the eclipse lasts for an hour, only 7 per cent of the diameter of the Moon is covered by the umbral shadow of the Earth, which is too negligible to be easily visible, she added.

The partial eclipse will begin at 00:22:43 AM on January 1, 2010 and end at 01:22:41 AM.

When a second full moon in a calendar month appears in the night sky, the occurrence is known as a blue moon.

There are 12 full moons most years, but every two or three years there is an extra full moon, which is called a blue moon.

"Such an eclipse of the Moon will be difficult to discern with the naked eye although an astrophotograph of the Moon might just show a hint of darkening over a very tiny region of the Moon," said N Rathnasree.

 

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http://nst.com.my/articles/27luna/Article/index_html

Partial lunar eclipse

2009/12/30

PUTRAJAYA: A partial lunar eclipse is expected to take place tomorrow from 1.17am to 5.28am.
According to a statement from the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim), the eclipse will start at 1.17am and reach its maximum phase at 3.24am.

"It is expected to end at 5.28am and can only be observed when the moon starts passing the umbra at 2.53am until the maximum phase at 3.24am," said the statement.

In relation to the phenomenon, the public is invited to witness it at the national mosque, while Muslims are encouraged to perform the solat khusuf (lunar eclipse prayers) which will be followed by a special sermon.

The programme is jointly organised by the mosque, Jakim and the National Space Agency. -- Bernama