Sorry, the Earth and Sky writeup about the Aldebaran Occultation is here:  http://earthsky.org/tonight/waxing-moon-near-the-bright-star-aldebaran


On 2/10/17 4:14 PM, Jane Houston Jones via OTEvents wrote:
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-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
Finally, I really like the Time and Date website eclipse graphics.
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2017-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 Blog https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/category/10things 


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-- 

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 Blog https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/category/10things