Skies Over West Seattle, October 2014 edition: Two eclipses!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ever wish for advance alert of an upcoming meteor shower/eclipse/etc. – and/or wonder “What’s that bright ‘star’ up there?” This should help. It’s our periodic feature by West Seattle’s own Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen, famed for her solstice/equinox sunset watches, among other things.

(Friday’s moon, photographed by Danny McMillin, shared via the WSB Flickr group)

By Alice Enevoldsen
Special to West Seattle Blog

Eclipses! We have eclipses this month! Don’t miss them, if the clouds part: This Wednesday, early morning (October 8th), lunar, and October 23rd, solar.

Hey, what’s that?

Clouds. I’m betting you saw clouds. As the rainy windstorms of fall come in, we lose some of our night skies. We’ll get a few sparkly-clear nights in winter again, but we’re into the time of year where you take what you can get. Enjoy the way the clouds make for some amazing sunsets.

Although Saturn and Mars are both still beautiful in the evening sky and Arcturus is also visible higher in the West, Capella is probably the most striking object in tonight’s sky. It is that this star always seems to sparkle and twinkle just a bit more than most other stars.

Just before the Sun rises, you’ll be unable to miss Jupiter shining low in the East. Orion is rising a bit South of Jupiter, and Sirius will be twinkling like crazy closer to the horizon than that.

Safe Eclipse Viewing

Lunar eclipses are easy to view safely, since you’re looking at the full Moon. You can use your eyes, telescopes, binoculars, cameras … whatever you like, really. You don’t need any special filters. That’s what we have on Wednesday: a lunar eclipse:

Early Wednesday, 1:15 am: You’ll start to notice the brightness of the Moon change

2:15 am: The more visible part starts

3:25 am: The Moon will appear completely rusty red

4:24 am: This is the end of the total part of the eclipse, the red color will fade

5:34 am: The darker shadow (umbra) will have passed, but there will still be the lighter shadow (penumbra).

6:33 am: Done!

Solar eclipses and solar events are much trickier. Luckily you have some time to prepare. NEVER look directly at the Sun without an approved filter. Sunglasses are not that. If you do not have or purchase a safe solar-viewing filter, turn away from the Sun and look at the shadows underneath a tree that still has its leaves, or make a loose fist and let the Sun shine through it. Look at the sunlight on the ground in the shadow of your fist or under the tree. You’ll see a handful of images of the eclipse in the bright spots.

(“Crescent-shaped” images of the Sun on the ground during the annular solar eclipse of 2012 as seen from northern California. © Jason Gift Enevoldsen 2012, used with permission)

My most trusted viewer is the paper-and-plastic Eclipse Shades from Rainbow Symphony or one of their resellers. They run a little less than a dollar each, but you have to buy them in packages of 25. These glasses seem cheap and flimsy, but their manufacturing process is good enough quality that they’ve surpassed the upcoming international standards for safe solar filters.

The solar eclipse on the 23rd will go like this:

1:35 pm: Eclipse begins

3:00 pm: Maximum eclipse – the Sun will be 54% covered by the Moon

4:20 pm: Eclipse ends

Other Sky Goings-on

We have some very small meteor showers this month that do result in bolides and fireballs now and then. If you see a very bright meteor, it is likely part of either the Southern or Northern Taurids.

Events

Wednesday (early morning!), October 8th—Eclipse #1: Total Lunar Eclipse

Sunday, October 19th—Close Approach #1: Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring gives Mars a nice, close shave.

Monday, October 20th, 6:30-7:30 pm—Make a Pinhole Viewer, High Point Branch Library. (I’ll be teaching kids ages 5 and up to build a safe viewer for the solar eclipse. Sign up ahead of time, space is limited)

Tuesday, October 21st, 6:00-7:00 pm—Solar Eclipse Lecture, West Seattle Branch Library. (I’ll be giving an adult-oriented lecture about a variety of safe techniques for viewing solar eclipses)

Wednesday, October 22nd, 4:00-5:30 pm—Make a Pinhole Viewer, Delridge Branch Library. (I’ll be teaching kids ages 5 and up to build a safe viewer for the solar eclipse. Sign up ahead of time, space is limited)

Thursday, October 23rd—Eclipse #2: Partial Solar Eclipse

Thursday, October 23rd, 1:15-3:00 pm—Solar Eclipse Viewing Party, High Point Branch Library. (Everyone come, we’ll have a lecture if the weather doesn’t cooperate. We’ll have some safe viewers on hand, and I’m likely to stick around until the end of the eclipse at 4:20 pm.)

Thursday, October 23rd—Close Approach #2: Asteroid 2014 SC324 passes the Earth, slightly farther away than the Moon’s orbit.

Did I miss something? Please add it in the comments!

The Moon

October 8—Full Moon (and eclipse!): The full moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise and is visible all

October 15—Last Quarter: the week around the last quarter moon, it is visible in the early morning sky. (rising in the middle of the night, setting in the early afternoon)

October 23—New Moon: the day of the new moon you won’t see the Moon at all, but a day or so before or after you might see a tiny sliver of a crescent Moon as the Sun rises or sets, and a few more days out you can see the crescent Moon all day long.

October 30—First Quarter: the first quarter moon is ideal for late afternoon and early evening observation (rising in the early afternoon, setting in the middle of the night).

Resources:

Stellarium: Free planetarium software for your home computer. Bring up the sky for anywhere in the world – any time and date in history, or the future.

Clear Sky Chart: The astronomer’s forecast for the next couple days. Cloud cover, darkness, and “seeing” which is how nice it is to view the stars, all on one handy chart.

USNO: Dates and times of astronomical happenings.

International Dark Sky Association

Who is Alice?

Alice is many things and volunteers for a few different notable organizations, but the suggestions and opinions put forth in this article are her own and no one else’s. You can find more about astronomy at alicesastroinfo.com.

9 Replies to "Skies Over West Seattle, October 2014 edition: Two eclipses!"

  • Mr Elliott October 4, 2014 (5:29 pm)

    I really do enjoy Alice’s astronomical posts in WSB. Thank you for a all this fantastic information!

  • karen October 5, 2014 (12:24 pm)

    Is there somewhere local to find Eclipse shades?

  • Mr. Potratz October 6, 2014 (3:25 pm)

    Alice thanks for all you do to keep people here in West Seattle informed about the moon and stars.

  • Alice October 6, 2014 (4:43 pm)

    I would like to clarify. To see the lunar eclipse you will be staying up late on TUESDAY night to see the eclipse in the wee hours of WEDNESDAY morning. So don’t try Wednesday night.

    Karen, I would give Captain’s Nautical a call, or Close Instrument Repair on 4th Ave. No guarantees. I really ought to partner with a local store to sell these on commission at the right times of year, eh? In 2012 the Pacific Science Center store had some.

    • WSB October 6, 2014 (4:50 pm)

      I just added a whole lot of “early morning” notations to make sure that’s clear. Now, let’s hope the weather will be …

  • Alice October 6, 2014 (9:39 pm)

    Thanks Mr. Elliot and Mr. Potratz!

    Thanks, WSB!

  • sam-c October 13, 2014 (2:22 pm)

    I like these features very much. thanks WSB and Alice!
    I like the umbrella photo. reminds me of a time I saw a lunar eclipse walking across campus in college. Everyone was looking up at the eclipse with their floppy disks (!!). But I looked down at the sidewalk and there were little eclipses all over the sidewalk, thanks to the little pinholes of light between the tree leaves. The eclipse shadows were so beautiful. hopefully the weather holds out for Oct 23rd!

  • Robert2715 October 15, 2014 (10:13 am)

    Would be curious if anyone has ever climbed Mt Rainier in hopes of viewing a solar eclipse from on top. (And supposedly a higher chance of clear skies)

  • Alice October 20, 2014 (4:08 pm)

    sam-c: Yup! That’s the safest way. :) It helps to have a “screen” like a piece of fabric or an umbrella to give the shadow an even surface to fall on.

    Robert2715: I don’t know. Local astronomers (amateur and professional) tend to go across the Cascades to the desert for optimal viewing nearby. A little less work than hiking up a mountain, but possibly less picturesque.

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