TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13096, 8 February 1906, Page 5

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

LATTER PHASES VISIBLE IN AUCKLAND.

To-morrow evening there will be a total eclipse of the mc.-on. Mr. J, 1. Stevenson, F.R.A.S., informs us that in Auckland only the latter phases of the eclipse will be visible, as the moon will rise totally eclipsed, and the eclipse will at moon rise have entered upon its greatest phase. Mr. Stevenson furnishes tho following particulars:—Middle of the eclipse, 7h. 17m. 6s. p.m.; end of total phase, Bh. 6m. l£s. p.m.; last contact with the shadow, 9h. 7m. 6s. p.m.; last contact wit h the penumbra, lOh. 10m. .p.m.: magnitude of the ec lipse (moon's diameter equals 1),

1.632. Tote 1 eclipscsof the moon are fairly frequent phenomena, and may be viewed simultaneously from stations widely separated, whereas a total solar eclipse is only so viewed from a rather limited number of stations that lie immediately in the path of the moon's shadow. Lunar -eclipses are due to the passage of the moon through the earth's shadow, which is a conical projection of the earth's form into space, but whose width at the distance of the moon on February 9 i 3 a little over one and a-half times greater than the dimensions of the lunar globe, therefore the moon will be some time (about 90 minutes) eclipiied. A natural inquiry on the part of many who have not had the opportunity of studying the cause of such natural phenomena is, Why is the moon not eclipsed every month at the time of full moon? Simply because the plane or level of the path of the moon about the earth happens to be considerably inclined to the fundamental plane in space, that is the plane of i;hc earth's orbit, but intersects it at two points, called nodes, therefore half of the lunar orbit must lie above (or north) and half must lie below (or south) of the earth's path about the sun. Now, it is apparent that the earth's shadow must be projected immediately from the sun along the plane of terrestrial orbit, therefore should a full moon be crossing the plane of the earth's orbit or ecliptic, as it is called, then the moon must enter the earth's shadow and be eclipsed. The reason why the plane of the earth';; oTI-it is so named the ecliptic is because all eclipse phenomena take place thereon.