Ghost Moon

(lunar eclipse of 28 August 2007)

Press Release:

On April 15th, Tuesday night, just after sunset, a total lunar eclipse will be visible along the east coast of Australia.

But this is a really bizarre eclipse; it occurs right on sunset, and the sky will be so bright that the moon will at first be almost entirely invisible. It will be there, but you won't be able to see it.

This is due to a few reasons. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is completely full; the entire sunlit side of the moon faces the earth. When the moon is REALLY full, it lines up perfectly behind the earth and the earth's shadow covers it, causing a lunar eclipse.

The eclipse will already be well and truly underway by the time the moon rises almost due east over the ocean. It will rise during the deepest part of the eclipse, meaning it's going to be almost impossible to see with light from the setting sun still dominating the sky.

But over the next 30 minutes the sky will get darker, and if you're luck enough to have good weather, you'll see the apparition of a blood red moon suddenly appear out of nowhere on the horizon.

With astronomical events like this, you can see why they used to be portents of doom

I'm calling this one the "Ghost Moon", for obvious reasons. One minute it won't be there, the next it will. The term Ghost Moon actually refers to the seventh full moon in the Chinese calendar, but I think on this occasion I'll borrow it as the description for the eclipse on Tuesday.

You can still see the eclipse from other areas of Australia, but the further west you go the later the moon will rise, making it much harder to see the total phase. People further west will still be able to see the partial phase of the eclipse, but it won't be anything like seeing the "Ghost Moon".

Myself and Rudi Vavra will be chasing and attempting to film this event for an independent science documentary series we are trying to create, called CLEAR SKIES. Weather will be a big determining factor of who gets to see the Ghost Moon, but hopefully we can capture it in its glory to share with other people as well.

We encourage people to follow us on Twitter @clearskiestv and @rudiphoto to get live updates of astronomical events visible in Australia. We saw Aurora Australis a few months ago from Kiama, NSW, and a few of our followers were fortunate enough to see and photograph aurora for the first time.

Lets hope for Clear Skies on Tuesday!

(Press Release written by: David Finlay, Photo: Rudi Vavra)