Ecliptophiles, get out your binoculars. The moon could be turning red again.
Or maybe orange. Or maybe a dull brown. The color is unpredictable because it depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere, which filters and refracts the indirect light from the sun that manages to reach the moon even during a total eclipse.
But whatever the color, this is a show worth watching when the moon rises Saturday evening in the eastern sky and is eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow. You just have to be in the right spot.
In America, that means being east of the Rockies, ideally in New England, where the sky will be darkest during the eclipse. The farther west you go, the more twilight there’ll be in the sky — but there could still be plenty to see if you start looking east after sunset. For details on how to watch, check out NASA’s guide and map. Sky and Telescope magazine offers another guide. At MrEclipse.com, you’ll find a primer on eclipses as well as photography tips.
I advise against trying the Columbus eclipse ploy, which he used in 1504 on a trip to Jamaica. Thanks to a handy almanac, he managed to extort food from the natives by threatening to make the moon disappear, and then agreeing to return it just before the eclipse ended. This tactic might frighten your children into better behavior — “See what you’ve made me do to Mr. Moon!” — but any short-term benefits would be outweighed by the shrink bills during adolescence.