Three tips from a Flint astronomer on watching the rare total lunar eclipse

Blake Thorne | By Blake Thorne | The Flint Journal
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on April 10, 2014 at 11:30 AM, updated April 10, 2014 at 12:52 PM

FLINT, MI -- We're in for a rare show April 15.

But you have to be willing to get up very early or stay up late to see it.

A total lunar eclipse will be visible from North America, meaning the earth is directly between the sun and the moon.

"At 3:06 a.m. EDT, the eclipse will reach totality, but sunlight bent by our atmosphere around the curvature of the Earth should produce a coppery glow on the moon. At this time, the moon, if viewed with binoculars or a small telescope, will present the illusion of seemingly glowing from within by its own light," according to

If the skies are clear, people in Genesee County should be able to see the eclipse, said Richard Walker, astronomer at Longway Planetarium in Flint.

Walker offered three tips to watch the celestial event.

1. Go outside and start looking about 10 minutes before 2 a.m. This is about when the moon will begin its journey into earth's shadow.

2. When a shadow is cast on the moon, see if you can notice the shape of the shadow. If should be curved. This is because the earth is curved, what you're seeing is the curvature of the earth.

3. Once the moon is all the way into the earth's shadow, "look at the moon and see what color it's turned," Walker said. It should be a reddish color. This is because red light is the only light capable of bending around the earth and lighting the moon. The other colors of the light spectrum are being blocked by the earth. This is similar to what happens during a sunset, when the sun appears more red as it gets further around the curve of the earth.
