Star Points for November, 2003; by Curtis Roelle
This Month's Dark and Frosty Moon

The big news for this month is the prime time Saturday night total
eclipse of the moon on November 8. The last total lunar eclipse
visible here was in May, but unfortunately that night was cloudy.

Lunar eclipses can only occur when the moon is full.  The November
full moon is called the Frost or Beaver moon.

The best thing about lunar eclipses is all you need is clear skies
to enjoy one.  You don't even need a telescope.  Of course if you
do have a telescope or binoculars, by all means dust them off.

Before the start of the eclipse the moon is full and bright.  It
will be difficult to see too many stars around the moon because of
its glare.  The full moon rises at 04:54 p.m. EST on the afternoon
of the eclipse.

At "1st contact" the edge of the earth's umbral shadow touches the
eastern edge of the moon.  Some darkening or color may be apparent
in the minutes leading up to 1st contact at 06:32 p.m.

This is when the eclipse starts getting interesting.  For the next
94 minutes the partial phase of the eclipse advances as the earth's
shadow slowly consumes the moon.  Totality starts at 08:06 p.m. 
This is "2nd contact" or the instant the moon gets completely
engulfed in shadow.

Totality lasts for just 25 minutes since the moon does not
penetrate very deeply into earth's shadow.  Instead, it just
catches its edge.  However, by this time the moon's color should be
anything from a rusty orange to a deep ashen grey.  The south part
of the moon near the edge of the shadow may be noticeably lighter
than the rest of the disc. If you are located in a relatively dark
area away from city lights you'll notice how the stars have emerged
since the light of the full moon has been dramatically dimmed.

Totality ends at "3rd contact" at 08:31 p.m.  The eastern edge of
the moon is once more bathed in sunlight as it starts to emerge
from the umbral shadow.

The eclipse has re-entered a new partial phase.  At "4th contact"
at 10:04 p.m. the moon manages to completely escape the shadow's
grasp.

You can watch the eclipse from home if you have a clear view, not
blocked by trees, walls, or other buildings.  But if you'd like to
see what the eclipsed moon looks like through a telescope you can
head to the Bear Branch Nature center north of Westminster.

Members of the Westminster Astronomical Society, Inc. (WASI) will
have telescopes set up that you can view through during the
November 8 eclipse.  There will also be planetarium programs in
the nature center at 07:30 and 08:30 p.m. 

The eclipse observing is free, but reservations are required for
the planetarium programs.  Reservations can be made by telephoning
the nature center at 410-848-2517.

If you like what you see and decide that you are ready to buy a
telescope yourself, you should plan to attend the Telescope Buyers
Workshop sponsored by WASI on the following Wednesday, November 12. 


Members will bring some of their telescopes for the public to see
up close.  Gary Hand of Hands On Optics in Damascus will be the
special guest that evening.  He has lots of useful advice for
telescope shoppers be they first time buyers or advanced observers
wanting to move up.

In other local telescope news plans are being drawn up for a future
observatory at the Bear Branch Nature Center.  The WASI Observatory
Committee chaired by Skip Bird has met with park officials to
discuss the proposed plan which must be approved by the Bear Branch
Council and by the County Commissioners.  

WASI is starting to raise funds for the project.  A preliminary
design prepared by board member Brian Eney has been posted on the
group's web site at http://www.westminsterastro.org/obs/design.htm.