Total lunar eclipse tonight
A total lunar eclipse will take place tonight (Tuesday, 28 August 2007) when the moon passes into the Earth's shadow.
The eclipse will occur in phases from around 5:54pm with the shadow visible to most people from around 6:30pm.
University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Senior Lecturer in Physics Dr Brad Carter said this eclipse is unique because of the timing and visibility.
'It's really a confluence of two things. It's such a convenient time for us and it will be fully visible with the naked eye,' Dr Carter said.
'Eclipses can take place at any time of the day or night but we are lucky this one is in the early evening and is observable from this part of the world.'
The eclipse will be visible from the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand and Eastern Australia but can not be seen from Europe, Africa or West Asia.
'People can have a lovely evening watching the eclipse and they will see how the moon is a complete sphere. It can also turn any colour from copper to dark brown.'
The colouring of the moon is due to the Earth's atmosphere acting like a prism and filtering out the green and blue colours of the sun so only the orange and red colours reach the moon.
There will be seven phases of the eclipse, with the total eclipse starting at 7:52pm and lasting until 9:22pm with the total eclipse at 8:37pm.
Dr Carter said the event is a unique opportunity for Australian's to observe one of nature's performances.
'If you miss seeing this one the next partially visible eclipse won't be until December 2010.'
An open event will be held on the oval behind the Toowoomba Education Centre on Baker St where the university astronomy team and amateur astronomers will have telescopes set up from 6:30pm.
The community is invited to bring binoculars, a chair, warm clothes, a hot drink and a camera to enjoy this special event.
A timetable for the major phases of the eclipse is listed below.
(All times mentioned are AEST)
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 5:53:39 pm
Partial Eclipse Begins: 6:51:16 pm
Total Eclipse Begins: 7:52:22 pm
Total Eclipse: 8:37:22 pm
Total Eclipse Ends: 9:22:24 pm
Partial Eclipse Ends: 10:23:30 pm
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 11:21:01 pm
For more information on the eclipse please visit the website www.ournightsky.com/070828.html. A live webcast of the lunar eclipse will be broadcast.
Media Contact: Jane Urquhart USQ Media +61 7 4631 2559