Partial Solar Eclipse

Though we won't have a picture perfect view in Northwest Ohio, residents in the Toledo area should still get a glimpse of the Solar Eclipse on October 23rd.

Thursday's partial solar eclipse will occur just before sunset for our region. Beginning at 5:00pm EDT, the moon will move between the path of the sun and the Earth, slightly obstructing our view of the large star.

Partial Solar Eclipse; Moon bisects the direct path from Earth to Sun.

Due to the timing for Northwest Ohio, only 10% of the sun will be obscured, but as much as 60% of the sun will be obscured for viewers in Alaska who are able to catch the sight before sunset.

Different phases of the partial solar eclipse as seen across the country.

Because this is only a partial eclipse, the sun will momentarily appear crescent-shaped. The moon's shadow will cast off a percentage of the sun's glow, seemingly taking a bite out of the orb!

Partial Solar Eclipse

This stellar treat will be visible by most people in North America, with the exception of the east coast due to the timing of Thursday's sunset.

The best time to look for the eclipse will be between 6:00-6:30pm. Sunset occurs at exactly 6:40pm.

A friendly reminder: Don't look directly at the sun.. or into a mirror! Eye damage from looking at the sun can occur with just one glance. Instead, use a pinhole device, or simply make your own using a sheet of paper.

Full "Blood Moon" and Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight!

The peak of the fall color season is nearing and the leaves are dripping with color.  Now the full "Blood Moon" or Hunter's Moon will paint the nigh sky with more color!  Tonight's full moon -- the first after the Harvest Moon -- will have a orange, rusty or reddish appearance.  

Courtesy NASA:  Full "Blood Moon"

In addition a Total Lunar Eclipse will happen tomorrow morning!  And yes I expect it to be visible in our area! By tomorrow morning the full moon and eclipse with be in the southwest sky headed toward the westerly horizon as morning approaches.  The beginning of the eclipse starts at 5:15 AM sharp.  The moon will enter into Total Eclipse by 6:25 AM

Angle of ecliptic – or path of the moon 

Who will see the October 7-8 total lunar eclipse? The October 2014 full moon passes directly through Earth’s dark (umbral) shadow. The total part of the October 8 eclipse lasts nearly 1 hour. A partial umbral eclipse precedes totality by about one hour and 10 minutes, and follows totality by about the same period of time, so the moon takes about 3 and 1/3 hours to completely sweep through the Earth’s dark shadow.  (Excerpt from earthsky.org)

Why the orange, rusty or reddish tint?  It is due to the the scattering of light through the earths atmosphere especially around sunset and sunrise.  The red and orange pigments are "scattered" from the spectrum and therefore become visible color that our eyes can see.

Full Hunter's Moon

TIMES TO REMEMBER! 

 Eastern Daylight Time: Wednesday Morning (October 8, 2014)

Total eclipse begins: 6:25 a.m. EDT

Greatest eclipse: 6:55 a.m. EDT

Total eclipse ends: 7:24 a.m. EDT

~Meteorologist Chris Vickers