Utahns are unlikely to witness tonight's total lunar eclipse, according to predictions made by the Clear Sky Clock site on the Internet and by the National Weather Service.
The Beehive State will be largely socked in with heavy clouds, if the sites are correct. That's too bad because otherwise, Utahns would be in a grand position to watch one of nature's most beautiful sky events.
A lunar eclipse happens when the moon slips into Earth's shadow, which stretches through space because Earth blocks the sunlight.
Often the eclipse is partial, with only a section of the moon entering the shadow. But tonight's eclipse will be total, with totality lasting about 50 minutes. During totality the orb may appear orange, red, dark gray or some other shade depending on the quality and amount of light hitting it.
According to Patrick Wiggins, NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah and northeastern Nevada, the easily visible partial phase will start about 6:45 p.m., totality will be from 8:01 p.m. until 8:51 p.m., and the moon will look like its normal beaming self by 10:09 p.m. (A less-easily-seen dimming happens before and immediately after the obvious partial phases.)
Wednesday's will be the last total lunar eclipse that could be visible from Utah until 2010, he added.
But Luna may not be visible here because of the predicted cloud cover. The "Clear Sky Clock" Web site, which offers precision predictions for cloud cover and air transparency — factors important to astronomers — shows no locality in Utah is expected to be clear of clouds during the eclipse. The site is located at www.cleardarksky.com/csk/.
The National Weather Service forecast for the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys on Wednesday night says, A 20 percent chance of rain and snow in the evening. Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s." Still, experienced star-gazers know that often enough, holes appear in the overcast at just the right moment to see something extraordinary. It might pay to keep eyes open just in case of a lucky break in the cloud cover.
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