Total Lunar Eclipse

January 9, 2001

08:49 pm - 09:51 pm
(for the whole Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg)

Hurray, the skies were clear !!!

During the whole day, there were clouds, only clouds.
But the moment when the moon entered umbra,
suddenly all clouds disappeared.
I have no idea where they had gone, but it was all clear !

I had a superb view on the eclipsing moon.
Unfortunately, the totality was rather dark, so that the expected red glow was more grey-brown.


This is a picture of a partial lunar eclipse. I found it on the online-site of the german scientific magazine bild der wissenschaft Unfortunately, the eclipse pages are no longer available since that website has been rebuilt.

For the 2nd time within one year, we had a total lunar eclipse in our region on January 9, 2001.

Last time, at the millenium change, we had twice a special phenomenon within 30 days :

In the night from 22nd to 23rd of december 1999, there was a special, rather rare astronomical constellation :

It was full moon (moon opposite to the sun, viewed from earth)
The moon was at it's perigee (nearest distance to earth)
The earth was nearly at it's nearest distance to the sun (which happened on 2nd of January 2000)

Due to this special constellation, the full moon appeared to be bigger and brighter than ever. And thanks to a fourth rare phenomenon, the absence of clouds, we even had the chance to watch it ... ;-)
Additionally, this was the solstice, the beginning of the winter with the longest night in the year !

On 21st of January 2000, the sun, the earth and the moon were aligned. During more than one hour, the shadow of the earth totally covered the full moon, thus eclipsing it.

Some people are wondering about the difference between new moon and a lunar eclipse, "as both times, you can't see the moon". There are, however, several fundamental differences :

New moon happens regularly, about every 30 days. The moon then is located somewhere between the sun and the earth.
Therefore, the sunshine illuminates the rear side of the moon, while the front, which we can see from earth, stays dark. That's why we can't see the new moon.

A particular case of the new moon happens when the moon is not only 'somewhere between' sun and earth, but when the three are really aligned. In that case, the shadow of the moon falls upon the earth, and we get a solar eclipse, partial, annular or total, depending on the perfection of the alignment and the distances between the three celestial bodies.
As the moon is smaller than the earth, it's shadow only wipes a narrow corridor on earth's surface : The solar eclipse can only be seen in a restricted area, and it lasts only a few minutes.
The opposite of new moon is the full moon. It also happens regularly, but now, the moon is located on the other side; thus, the earth is between the sun and the moon, so that we can see the illuminated face of our natural satellite.

Again, a special case of the full moon happens when the three are nearly perfectly aligned : this time, the shadow of the earth falls upon the illuminated face of the moon, thus darkening it. At this full moon, we have a lunar eclipse.
The lunar eclipse can be seen from half the world (seeing the moon at that time means seeing the eclipse). And as the shadow is bigger than the moon, it can last much longer than a solar eclipse. Additionally, this leads to an increased frequency of lunar eclipses, especially total ones.
When the shadow of the earth falls upon the moon, this one, on the contrary of new moon, doesn't turn to black. The atmosphere around the earth not only allows us to breath, but also it diffracts the waves of the light, and this differently for each colour. The red part of the light is deflected most. This e.g. leeds to the beautiful red sky during sunrise or sunset.
These red parts of the light are bent into the shadow that the earth casts upon the moon. Therefore, during an eclipse, the moon shows a dimmed, red-brown glow.

Total Lunar Eclipse on 2000-07-16 (Japan)

A total lunar eclipse can be as beautiful as this.
This picture has been taken in Japan on July 16, 2000.

Wanna see more fantastic shots like this ?
Have a look at AstroArts !

January 21, 2000 ; a short report :

As again the weather was all but fine, I thought there was once more, as for the solar eclipse in 1999, nothing to see for me. But briefly before totality, I could throw a short glance on the partially eclipsed moon. I immediately installed outside with my binoculars and camera, and waited.

From 5.15 to 5.37 a.m., I had the chance to see the eclipsed moon several times for a few moments. It was a great picture through the binoculars : The moon was still rather clear, with a beautiful red/orange rim on the bottom. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed in taking acceptable pictures.

After 5.37 the sky was completely clouded again, and it began slightly raining.
At about 6.35, the moon came back for a few seconds, now already partially illuminated again. After that, the sky was definitely clouded. Between the short moments of visibility, I could only wait, listening to Pink Floyd's

The Dark Side The Dark Side Of The Moon

Of The Moon

The eclipse data for Luxembourg can be found in this table.
All times are Luxembourg local time !
For other regions, you can calculate the times using geographical coordinates with the U.S. Naval Observatory Computer.

All kinds of information about eclipses can be found on the website of Fred Espenak, the 'eclipse guru' at NASA,
or in the Eclipse Almanach at the Stendal Observatory.

You are interested in astronomy ? Visit the site of the Amateur Astronomers of Luxembourg

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Total Lunar Eclipse

January 9, 2001

08:49 pm - 09:51 pm(for the whole Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg)

Hurray, the skies were clear !!!

08:49 pm - 09:51 pm
(for the whole Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg)