For people in the
United States, an extraordinary series of lunar eclipses is about to begin. The action starts
on April 15th when the full Moon passes through the amber shadow of Earth,
producing a midnight eclipse visible across North America. So begins a lunar
eclipse tetrad—a series of 4 consecutive total eclipses occurring at
approximately six month intervals. The
total eclipse of April 15, 2014, will be followed by another on Oct. 8, 2014,
and another on April 4, 2015, and another on Sept. 28 2015.
"The most
unique thing about the 2014-2015 tetrad is that all of them are visible for all
or parts of the USA," says NASA. This will be the first
total lunar eclipse since Dec. 10, 2011.
The last time that happened — a series of four lunar eclipses
with no partials — was 2003-2004. It won't happen again until 2032-2033,
according to NASA.
Mars will also be one of several guest stars, so to speak, in the sky show. The Red Planet will be within 57 million miles of Earth, its
closest approach since January 2007.
Mars will appear to the right of the moon at eclipse time. A bright blue star, Spica, will be close to the totally eclipsed
moon.
Saturn will be to the left of the eclipsed moon and brighter
than Spica. Jupiter also will be visible about 20 minutes after sunset. Face
south and look nearly overhead and Jupiter will appear as a bright star.
