Lunar Eclipse

- Beautiful darkest night during a full moon

Can I or my students do some astronomical observations?  Yes of course.  With naked eyes, binoculars or low power telescope on can do exercises in crater timing and estimating the eclipse darkness on Danjon scale.

Please visit NASA web site by Fred Espenak Danjon Scale and Crater timings.

The map below shows the timings for the shadow to cover and to leave different craters.

A quick note on Danjon scaleThe French astronomer Andre-Louis Danjon proposed a useful five point scale for evaluating the visual appearance and brightness of the Moon during total lunar eclipses. 'L' values for various luminosities are defined as follows:

L = 0     Very dark eclipse.
               Moon almost invisible, especially at mid-totality.

     L = 1     Dark Eclipse, gray or brownish in coloration.
               Details distinguishable only with difficulty.

     L = 2     Deep red or rust-colored eclipse.
               Very dark central shadow, while outer edge of umbra
               is relatively bright.

     L = 3     Brick-red eclipse.
               Umbral shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim.

     L = 4     Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse.
               Umbral shadow has a bluish, very bright rim.

The assignment of an 'L' value to lunar eclipses is best done with the naked eye, binoculars or a small telescope near the time of mid-totality.