LEWISTON, Idaho – A total lunar eclipse will take place early Tuesday morning, April 15, at around 12:45 a.m. LCSC Assistant Professor of Physics John Morrison is organizing a viewing of the eclipse beginning Monday night at the overlook at the top of the Lewiston Hill, just off U.S. 95 on the Old Spiral Highway. The viewpoint is accessible by exiting 95 headed in either direction.
“The eclipse starts around 11 p.m. Monday night,” said Morrison in a prepared statement. “We’ll have a telescope set up to watch the eclipse, as well as Mars and Saturn which should also be visible.”
Morrison recommends bringing warm clothes, a chair, and perhaps binoculars. He reminds anyone viewing the eclipse that, unlike solar eclipses, it is safe to look at a lunar eclipse with the naked eye.
Within a year and a half, North America will witness a total lunar eclipse, sometimes called a blood moon, four times. The moon appears red as it passes through the Earth's shadow. Other dates are October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015, and September 28, 2015. All will be visible from most or all parts of the USA, according to NASA.
The series of four total eclipses is called a tetrad. In the 21st century there will be many tetrads, but centuries have passed where there were none.
According to CNN.com, "That would mean that neither Sir Isaac Newton, Mozart, Queen Anne, George Washington, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln nor their contemporaries ever had a chance to see one."
For more information about the LCSC viewing please contact John Morrison at 208.792.2344 or jlmorrison@lcsc.edu.
