
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 29, 1993                   TAG: 9311290073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FOR SOME, CLOUDS HIDE LUNAR ECLIPSE

Rain and clouds vanished across eastern North America on Sunday night in time to yield a dazzling sight of the most widely visible lunar eclipse in a 14-year period. But moon-watchers were disappointed in the upper Midwest and much of the West.

At 11 p.m., about a half-hour after the eclipse began, the moon shone brilliantly clear across the South and central Midwest, and came out from behind clouds that had covered much of the East Coast all day.

In Western Virginia, clear skies offered an excellent view.

The eclipse itself, more than two hours from totality, was barely noticeable; some sharp-eyed viewers discerned a slight red shadow across the moon's edge.

But clouds obscured the view in Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis, and along much of the West Coast.

The moon began entering the Earth's shadow at 10:27 p.m., and was to be totally eclipsed from 1:02 a.m. until 1:50 a.m.

In Chicago, the Adler Planetarium was staying open until slightly after the end of the event, with eclipse-related sky shows, demonstrations and outdoor telescopes.

But the evening sky was cloudy, obscuring all but the light of the moon, Adler spokeswoman Karol Cooper said.

In New York City, city park rangers planned to escort eclipse watchers from the Hayden Planetarium into chilly Central Park. Telescopes were being provided and two professional astronomers were to be on hand to answer the public's questions.

Lunar eclipses occur once or twice a year, but Sunday night's had the potential to be the most widely visible total eclipse in North America since July 1982. The next good lunar eclipse isn't due until Sept. 26, 1996.

In Utah, the Hansen Planetarium and the Salt Lake Astronomical Society invited the public to attend a free moon-watch at the society's observatory in Stansbury Park, Tooele County, in the western desert about 30 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. But clouds covered the area as night fell.

Bill Gutsch, chairman of the Hayden Planetarium, said that in other recent eclipses, the moon has been dark and colorless from volcanic ash and atmospheric dust.

by CNB