Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993 TAG: 9311240026
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Nov. 28, 1621, a few weeks after the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims saw their moon slowly darken and disappear as it moved into the Earth's shadow.
On Sunday and Monday residents of the New World will be able to see a nearly identical repeat of the Pilgrims' first eclipse, said Jack Horkheimer, executive director of the Miami (Fla.) Space Transit Planetarium.
It will be the first time in 372 years that there has been a lunar eclipse on the same date that the Pilgrims saw it.
"The really amazing thing is that it occurs in the same place in the sky," Horkheimer said.
During the peak of the total eclipse, starting at 1:02 a.m. Monday, what's left of the moon will appear directly overhead.
Because it will be so high in the sky, away from trees, the horizon and likely clouds, "we should be able to see a wonderful eclipse," said Dave Menke, director of the Buehler Planetarium near Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
This year's total lunar eclipse should be visible to all of the Americas, making it the most watchable lunar eclipse in 11 years, Horkheimer said.
This eclipse technically starts at 10:27 p.m., when the moon slides into the faint outer part of the Earth's shadow, Horkheimer said. But you won't really notice anything until 11:40 p.m., when the dark inner part of the shadow travels over the moon. It will start looking like bites are taken out of the moon.
From 1:02 a.m. until 1:50 a.m., the moon will be totally in the Earth's shadow. If there is a lot of dust in the air, it will make the moon seem to disappear. But Horkheimer thinks this moon will appear bright and red.
by CNB