Nothing in the night sky quite beats a total eclipse of the Moon. Other than a shooting star, eclipses prove to all who watch them that the sky is a changing place. During the several hours of a lunar eclipse, we can actually watch as the Moon slowly orbits the Earth, and as it passes through the shadow of the Earth we can enjoy its changing illumination. Last Sunday evening, May 15, 2022, there was a total eclipse of the Moon. It was perfectly timed for observers throughout most of North America. On the east coast, the eclipse began in mid-evening. For those of us who live in Arizona, in the great American southwest, the eclipse began just as the Moon was rising, and it ended late in the hours of the evening. As the Moon marched its way eastward, the penumbral shadow manifested itself as a shading, slowly dimming the Moon’s light as it spread across. Gradually the eastward facing limb, or edge, of the Moon grew darker and darker. About 90 minutes into the event, the full and profound darkness of the umbra, the central shadow of the Earth, struck the Moon’s leading edge. Over the next hour […]
