There will be a partial eclipse of the Moon on Thursday 7 September 2006 from 16:42 to 21:00 UT. The planet Uranus will be just 2.5 degrees away from the moon at the time, making this an ideal opportunity to spot one of the more elusive planets.

Details

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What makes it ideal? My first thoughts are that it's not a full eclipse, it barely makes it into the umbra. So wouldn't it still outshine Uranus?

Or am I just being jealous because it won't be seen in the W.Hemisphere?

That's only for the eastern hemisphere, of course, and being near the Moon seems an advantage only for the aesthetics of naked-eye objects, not Uranus, yes?

Hum,
an eclipse at moonrise would look good (for europe).

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`Irony` actually does mean `metal like`...

Ideal was a bad choice of words. I simply meant that with a pair of binoculars it should be possible to have both the Moon and Uranus in your field-of-view at the same time, making it easy to track down Uranus.

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Not so much the choice of words as it is that it sounded like the eclipse made it good for viewing (rather than location).

Thanks for the clarification.

Hum,
this eclipse was a bit strange - from the ones I've seen before - no reddening, but a very distinctive cut off shadow.

Anyone else catch it?

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`Irony` actually does mean `metal like`...

I've seen a lunar eclipse with no reddening before. At least none my eyes could discern.

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I'm not completely heartless, the doctor who removed it told me he'd never be able to get it all.

The reddening can be observed only during total eclipses, as far as I know. During the partial phases, the contrast between lit and eclipsed parts of the Moon is too strong to make reddening appreciable.

I enjoyed the eclipse, but I was clouded and rained out pretty soon. I posted some photographic coverage over in the astrophotography section.

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Hum,
it could just have been that there was no smog tonight.

BTW, exceptionally high tides could occur over the next few days due to the moon being at 'perigee' (closest to the Earth), combined with a full moon, (when the Moon, Earth and the Sun are aligned).

The tides are expected to rise an extra 15cm, putting at risk lower lying ground.

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`Irony` actually does mean `metal like`...

For once, clear sky and a clear horizon in just the right place to see the Moon rise partially eclipsed. It was orange, then yellow, then white, but that was due to its altitude. When the moon rose above the mist etc, there was no colour with the shadow. I'm in the Midlands, so we saw the end of the eclipse.

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Carolyn

"All the screens are filled with heroes and losers, but the sky's still filled with stars"
...Midnight Oil - 'Golden Age'

I saw it too; it looked very odd. Like the Moon had a little black cap on.

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For all those who missed this event due to bad weather or bad geography, theris is hope for 2007: 2 Total Lunar eclipses, one for Europe, and one for the Americas (especially for those in the Aloha state... )

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

I caught part of the eclipse, but by the time the Moon cleared the low-lying clouds and surrounding buildings it was 8:40 pm (Summer Time) and the Moon had already left the umbra of the Earth's shadow, though it was still largely within the penumbra.

The full Moon was visible and though it was slightly dimmer than usual, it was difficult to tell than an eclipse was in progress, as I did not have a chance to compare the eclipsed Moon with the uneclipsed full Moon which had preceded it. (What's more, the Moon was still fairly close to the horizon, which usually causes it to appear less brilliant than when it is riding high in the sky.) To be honest, I didn't notice any difference between that part of the Moon which was still in the penumbra and that which had left it.

Amazingly, considering how bright the Moon was, even in penumbral eclipse (not to mention the serious light pollution at my inner-city location), I was still able to locate Uranus in my 10x50 binoculars without too much trouble. It was about 3.5 degrees to the upper right of the Moon, and could just about be seen with averted vision. Nearby, 73 Aquarii was visible with direct vision.

The following morning at 4:50 am, about 7 hours after the eclipse, the full Moon was visible from the other side of my house. The contrast in brightness with the penumbrally eclipsed Moon was now quite plain to see; its pure silver face was clearly distinguishable from the slightly yellowed one the night before, and the glare from the Moon was much more pronounced. This time I failed to find Uranus: 6 Piscium (mag. 3.68) and 73 Aquarii (3.71) were the only stars I could positively identify.

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We were lucky in Cardiff. It was a clear evening so I took my girlfriend out of town to a mountain top to watch it with the lights of the city just switching on. We got there at about 7.45 and the eclipsed moon was clearly visible at around 7.55. It looked very earie with its top cut off! Though it was only partial, it was beautiful. I managed to get a picture with my phone, and will post it on here if it comes out good on the computer.

I'm only disappointed that it wasn't a total eclipse as the conditions I normally get for them can only be described as wet!

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