Skygazers will have a special opportunity to get an up close look at the total lunar eclipse from 9:30-11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, on UNC Asheville’s Quad. The UNC Asheville Physics Department and Society of Physics Students will host the viewing and will offer telescopes to give viewers a closer look. The event is free and open to the public.

There will not be another total lunar eclipse visible from Asheville until March 3, 2007.

"Lunar eclipses can be viewed by anyone on the Earth’s night side, weather permitting. Viewers in the Eastern and Central United States will be able to see the entire eclipse, but those in the western sections of the nation will see the partial phase of the eclipse start just a few minutes after sunset and moonrise," said Randy Booker, chair of UNC Asheville’s Physics Department.

The partial eclipse phase will start for Western North Carolina at 9:14 p.m. as the full moon starts to enter the Earth’s umbra -- or shadow. The total phase of the eclipse begins at 10:23 p.m. when the moon is fully immersed in the umbra.

"During the total phase of the lunar eclipse, the moon doesn’t turn completely dark. Instead, it might turn a coppery-red color due to sunlight that is bent by the Earth’s atmosphere around the edge of Earth into the umbra. Our atmosphere scatters blue light, so consequently it is the red light that remains and gets directed onto the eclipsed moon," Booker said.

"There is no danger of looking directly at the moon during a lunar eclipse. The brightest the moon will be is a full moon, which is safe to look at directly. No safety precautions for the eyes are needed during a lunar eclipse," he added.

For more information, call UNC Asheville’s Physics Department at 828/251-6442.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Randy Booker, UNCA Physics Department Chair, 828/251-6269
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526