Re: Rain and late moonrise mar tonight's "Penumbral: Eclipse

If it wasn't raining, an unspectacular lunar eclipse would be nearly over by the time the full moon rises at 5:32 p.m. tonight. I wrote a little "Ten Things to know about the Penumbral Lunar eclipse" article today. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2017/02/10/10-things-to-know-the-february-… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=hJ06W8fhgGGIwmpq46cN2jQFIEiqizTH72PQnYXYfbM34kSzD1LUCA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fsolarsystem.nasa.gov%2fnews%2f2017%2f02%2f10%2f10-things-to-know-the-february-penumbral-lunar-eclipse> If you use the platform Tumblr, NASA has a nice product about the eclipse here, and you don't have to be a Tumblr use to see it. http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/157061320334/subtle-lunar-eclipse <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=rBy2H9omf2dAN486pO0nqzTGWS3EUUebCGZEIVJAotU34kSzD1LUCA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fnasa.tumblr.com%2fpost%2f157061320334%2fsubtle-lunar-eclipse> Finally, I really like the Time and Date website eclipse graphics. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2017-february-11 <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=0K6xZpGe2cUCwBHrj-bdJdiKzJx1NBe52OplIwRycrk34kSzD1LUCA..&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.timeanddate.com%2feclipse%2flunar%2f2017-february-11> Looks like our next Sidewalk Astronomy night will be March 4 and there will be an interesting celestial event. Around 19:09 PST on March 4, the almost-half Moon occults the red giant star Aldebaran. This might be a naked eye disappearance for the sharp-eyed. Everyone else should use binoculars or a small telescope. You CAN do this at home. If you can find the moon you have a chance to watch the moon pass in front of the star. The time is the exact time for La Canada Flintridge, so it will be a little different depending on where you are located. For those coming to the sidewalk maybe we'll have one of the telescopes with a videocamera attached and a monitor to view this special event, so more people can see it. Here is a nice writeup of who can see this event. The reappearance is on the lighted hemisphere around 20:27 PST and will require binoculars or telescope. The color difference between star and Moon will be striking. Thanks to Steve Edberg and Tom Traeger for the heads up! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @otastro What's Up Feb? Use Venus and Mars to find the Zodiacal Light, plus two comets and the brightest asteroid.https://youtu.be/HT2htvbcmm8 New: Ten Things Bloghttps://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/category/10things _______________________________________________ OTEvents -- Astronomy announcements for the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers OTEvents(a)otastro.org http://mail.otastro.org/mailman/listinfo/otevents