ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19957, 28 May 1928, Page 10

ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

OCCURRENCE NEXT WEEK. VISIBLE IN NEW ZEALAND. TOTAL PHASE LATE IN EVENING. A total eclipse of the incon will occur during the night of June 3, and if the conditions are favourable it should be visible throughout New Zealand. Penumbral eclipse will commoner at 8.35 p.m., and wiil result in an almost imperceptible darkening of the lunar disc. At 9.48 p.m. the eclipse will commence so far as the ordinary observer is concerned, for at that time the earth's shadow will make its first contact with the lunar disc. As the edge of the shadow is invariably hazy and ill-defined, it will be possible, if one knows at what part of the diso the eclipse will commence, to watch the gradual darkening at this spot for one or two minutes before the actual eclipse is timed to occur. The shadow will first be noticed at the lower right-hand side, close to the bottom part of the disc. From the moment of first contact the shadow will steadily grow in extent until, at 11.1 p.m., the moon will bo entirely immersed in the shadow. , From this time until 12.18 a.m. totality will continue. During this time the moon may entirely disappear from view or may be visible as a reddish ball, according as the shadow is black or reddish. In the total eclipse visible in New Zealand last June some beautiful colours were observed in the eclipsed moon, and the edgo of the shadow was so light as to lead many astronomers to aver that the eclipse had not been total. The moon will commence to emerge from the earth's shadow at 12.18 a.m., and the shadow will then rapidly decrease until 1.32 a.m., when it will finally leave the lunar.globe. Penumbra! eclipse will, however, continue until 2.45 a.m. on June 4. The magnitude of the eclipse will be 1.247 times the moon's diameter, and it therefore appears unlikely that there will be any doubts such as arose last year as to whether totality actually occurred. This eclipse is the second of five eclipses that will occur during 1928. There can never be more than seven eclipses in any year, nor iess than two.