(Casper, Wyo.) – A total lunar eclipse will be visible over North America the evening of Sunday, September 27th. The eclipse will actually begin before the Moon rises for Wyoming and Montana, at 6:11 PM, Mountain Daylight Time.
According to the National Weather Service in Cheyenne, the partial eclipse will begin at 7:07 Mountain Daylight Time, with the total eclipse running from 8:11 to 9:23 p.m. The partial eclipse will end at about 10:25 p.m.
“During the times of partial eclipse, you will see the dark shadow cast by Earth (the umbra) cover varying parts of the surface of the Moon,” the NWS reports. “During the total phase the Moon will take on a reddish hue due to the red part of the sunlight being bent through the atmosphere of the Earth and then reflecting off the surface of the Moon.”
Partial eclipse begins at 7:07 PM and the Moon will fully enter the Earth’s central shadow, or umbra, at 8:11 PM. Totality will last from then until 9:23 PM, with greatest eclipse at about 8:48 PM. While in total eclipse, the Moon generally appears a deep orange-red color, due to the Earth’s atmosphere absorbing the blue and green colors of the Sun’s light. The Moon will exit the umbra at about 10:27 PM and the eclipse ends at 11:22 PM.
There will be another total lunar eclipse visible for us on Jan. 31st, 2018, but the Moon will set before the eclipse ends. The next fully visible total lunar eclipse for us will be a year later on Jan. 21st, 2019.
Start thinking about where you’ll be the morning of Monday, August 21st, 2017. That’s when the next total eclipse of the Sun visible in the USA will bisect the continent from Oregon to South Carolina. The path of totality will enter Wyoming over the Tetons and leave the state about halfway between Lusk and Torrington. Cities in the path of totality include Jackson, Dubois, Riverton, Shoshoni, Casper, Douglas, Lusk and Torrington.
There is no more profound natural event on the face of the Earth than a total eclipse of the Sun. Monday, 8/21/17, should be a national holiday, so everyone can go see it. The next one won’t happen until April 8th, 2024, visible from Texas to Maine.
h/t Mack Frost all lunar eclipse graphics
