A lunar eclipse will be visible above the Bailiwick early tomorrow morning.
La Société Guernesiaise Astronomical Section has shared guidance for those who want to witness it.
“During a lunar eclipse the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon,” explained Dr Jean Dean, the Secretary of the Astronomy Section. “The Earth creates two shadows: the outer, pale shadow called the penumbra, and the dark, inner shadow called the umbra. The eclipse is noticeable once the Moon enters the umbra.
“On 14 March there will be a total eclipse of the Moon, however, in Guernsey the Moon will set just before totality,” she said.
To view the eclipse Dr Dean has advised that we “look towards the west with a good view down to the horizon”.
“The sequence is as follows: the penumbral eclipse begins at 03:57; the partial eclipse – when the umbra contacts the Moon – begins at 05:09, when the Moon will start to get red; the maximum will occur at 06:20, this is when the eclipse reaches its greatest magnitude, while still just above the horizon at 1.4˚; the total eclipse begins at 06:26, but the Moon will have started to set and being so low on the horizon there will be some dimming of the light so it will be harder to see; the Moon sets at 06:31, so the waning eclipse will not be visible.
“The sky will start to lighten at 05:16 with the start of nautical twilight, followed by civil twilight at 05:53 and daylight at 06:25. All times are Greenwich Mean Time.”
Dr Dean added that we will also be able to see Mars.
“…look to the south-west for the unmistakably red planet, Mars, in the constellation of Gemini,” she added.
Some historic civilisations considered an eclipse to be a bad omen. However, Dr Dean said that is no longer the case for most people.
“Today we understand the size and relationships of the bodies within the Solar System, and their orbits. Ancient people will almost certainly have recognised that there was some recurring pattern to the frequency of lunar eclipses, as an observer remaining in the same location will see about 19 or 20 such eclipses in an 18 years period.
“However, ancient myths evolved within different cultures and typically viewed lunar eclipses as a bad thing. The Inca feared it was a jaguar attacking the Moon, which turned it blood-red. They feared after the attack, the jaguar would crash to Earth to consume people, so they would try to drive the predator away by shaking spears at the Moon and making lots of noise. Ancient Mesopotamians viewed the lunar eclipse as an assault on their king by seven demons. However, as they were able to reasonably predict the eclipses, they would install a temporary, surrogate king to bear the brunt of any attack, and the real king would masquerade as an ordinary citizen. Presumably, since the Moon returned to normal and no harm befell people then such measures were deemed successful, perhaps apart from the surrogate king who legend says, disappeared never to be seen again!
“Not all cultures view eclipses as a bad thing. For example, the Batammaliba people of Togo and Benin in Africa, view the event as the Sun and Moon fighting and the people encourage them to stop. They see it as a time of coming together and resolving old feuds and anger. It is a myth that has held to this day.”