A Special Lunar Eclipse

The upcoming lunar eclipse on Wednesday morning will offer a rare possibility for some viewers: a selenelion. Some locations (east of the Mississipi) may be able to see the setting eclipsed moon and the rising sun at the same time. But wait, it’s an eclipse, so that means that the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, right? Right. So you shouldn’t be able to see them at the same time, right? Wrong. The earth’s atmosphere refracts the light from both, letting you see the sunrise a little early, and the moonset for a little longer. A guide to what part of the eclipse will be in progress at sunrise at various locations is available at space.com. You might just want to get up before sunrise for this one!

1 thought on “A Special Lunar Eclipse

  1. Rats. This is the third month in a row I have been trying to get a picture of a full moon and for the third month the sky will be clouded over. The funny part of this is I live in the Phoenix areas!!!

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