Tag: space

NASA photographer Aubrey Gemignani captured this amazing view of the perigee moon total lunar eclipse over Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27, 2015. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

The first “supermoon” total lunar eclipse in more than three decades did not disappoint, with the moon thrilling skywatchers around the world as it passed through Earth’s shadow.

On Sunday evening (Sept. 27), the slightly-larger-than-normal full moon shined brightly in Earth’s skies and then dove into the planet’s shadow, turning a gorgeous reddish-gold color as observers with clear skies enjoyed the view. The event marked the first supermoon total lunar eclipse since 1982, and the last until 2033 — and it was visible to potentially billions of people across the Western Hemisphere and parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Space.com received images from lunar-eclipse observers from across the United States and Canada, as well as Mexico, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. [See More Amazing Photos of the 2015 Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse]

Despite lots of clouds and rain on the way, Victor Rogus grabbed this picture of the Sept. 27 ‘supermoon’ lunar eclipse in Manatee County, Florida. — “Before clouds doomed my efforts,” he told Space.com.
Credit: Victor Rogus

An amazing lunar eclipse

“Total lunar eclipse! Got It!” photographer Victor Rogus wrote Space.com excitedly after capturing a spectacular close-up view of the blood-red moon. “Lots of clouds here in Manatee County, Florida, and rain on the way, but I managed this image through thin clouds, almost total coverage before clouds doomed my efforts!”

In Escondido, California, observer John Melson captured the lunar eclipse as the moon was rising over nearby hills. In his photo, the moon is partially obscured by Earth’s shadow, and appears enormous on the horizon.

“Looks like the Death Star (almost),” Melson wrote Space.com in an email.

Skywatcher John Melson of Escondido, California captured this jaw-dropping view of the eclipsed moon rising over nearby hills during the total lunar eclipse of Sept. 27, 2015. He compared the moon to the Death Star from Star Wars.
Credit: John Melson

NASA photographers in three different cities snapped amazing views of the total lunar eclipse. In Washington, D.C., NASA’s Aubrey Gemignani snapped views of the blood-red moon over the Washington Monument while photographer Bill Ingalls captured stunning images of the moon over the Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver.

NASA photographer Aubrey Gemignani captured this stunning view of the perigee moon lunar eclipse over the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27, 2015.
Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

In New York City, NASA photographer Joel Kowsky captured a series of awesome images of the lunar eclipse over the Empire State Building. Elsewhere in the city, Space.com producer Tom Chao joined skywatchers at Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side, where several hundred people gathered to witness the eclipse.

“People are lining up to use telescopes, but I brought my own binoculars,” the prepared Chao said.

South of New York City, in West Orange, New Jersey, a thick and stubborn layer of clouds blocked any view of the hours-long lunar eclipse. Would-be lunar observers in that city, including Space.com managing editor Tariq Malik, had to make do with live webcasts provided by the Slooh Community Observatory, NASA, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and other institutions.

Bill Ingalls captured this shot of the ‘supermoon’ lunar eclipse Sept. 27 over the Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver.
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The science of supermoon eclipses

Veteran night sky photographers Imelda Joson and Edwin Aquirre used a spotting scope and smartphone to capture this view of the total lunar eclipse of Sept. 27, 2015 as seen from the Burlington area of Massachusetts.
Credit: Imelda B. Joson and Edwin L. Aguirre

There’s nothing supernatural about supermoons. They’re the natural result of the moon’s elliptical path around Earth, which dictates that the satellite is 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) nearer to Earth at its closest point (known as perigee) than at its most distant (called apogee).  

Supermoons are full moons that occur at or near perigee. Such full moons appear about 14 percent larger and 30 brighter in the sky than apogee full moons (which are also called “minimoons”).

Every supermoon is therefore a worthy skywatching target. And a supermoon total lunar eclipse — that’s a really big deal.

Only five such eclipses occurred in the entire 20th century (in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982), NASA experts have said. (“Normal” total lunar eclipses, on the other hand, aren’t terribly rare; a skywatcher at any particular spot on the globe can expect to see such an event once every 2.5 years or so.)

Sunday’s lunar eclipse also marked the fourth total lunar eclipse since April 2014. It was the end of an eclipse series known as a lunar eclipse tetrad.

On Sunday evening, the supermoon began to dim slightly at 8:11 p.m. EDT (0011 GMT on Sept. 28). The total eclipse started at 10:11 p.m. EDT (0211 GMT) and lasted for 72 minutes, in a dramatic event visible to people throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, western Asia and the eastern Pacific Ocean region. The partial-eclipse phase — during which only a part of the lunar disk is in shadow — ended at 12:27 a.m. EDT (0427 GMT) on Sept. 28.

The moon does not go completely dark during a total eclipse; some sunlight is refracted around Earth, passes through the planet’s thick atmosphere and hits the lunar disk.

“Because of this, almost all colors except red are ‘filtered’ out, and the eclipsed moon appears reddish or dark brown,” NASA officials wrote in a statement. “This filtering is caused by particulates in our atmosphere; when there have been a lot of fires and/or volcanic eruptions, lunar eclipses will appear darker and redder. This eerie — but harmless — effect has earned the phenomenon the nickname ‘blood moon.’”

Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth and moon all line up, with Earth in the middle. During a solar eclipse, on the other hand, the moon comes between Earth and the sun, blocking out some or all of the solar disk from skywatchers’ perspective.

Editor’s note: If you captured an amazing view of the supermoon lunar eclipse that you would like to share with Space.com for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments to managing editor Tariq Malik at: spacephotos@space.com.

Space.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik contributed to this story. Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

Super Moon In My Room by Uncle Milton is a wall-mounted moon lamp that can sync up with the real phases of the moon. It is 30-percent larger that Uncle Milton’s earlier Moon In My Room and plays Neil Armstrong’s historic words from the Apollo 11 moon landing. Credit: Uncle Milton

As a parent, I know that the dazzling sight of the moon in night sky can be a source of wonder for young kids, so it was no surprise when Uncle Milton’s new “Super Moon in My Room” enthralled my 6-year-old the minute she laid eyes on it.

“Super Moon in My Room,” which retails for $54.99, is the latest in a series of space-themed light-up wall lamps from Uncle Milton that pull double duty as a nightlight and educational tool for moon-minded kids. Uncle Milton launched the new moon light this month, which is impeccable timing given the supermoon total lunar eclipse on Sunday (Sept. 27).

Like its predecessor, “Moon in My Room,” it’s is a wall-mounted lamp shaped like the moon designed to mimic the 12 phases of Earth’s real moon at the touch of a remote control. But what sets it apart from the older model is its size. At just about 15 inches (38.1 cm) across, it’s about 30-percent larger than the original “Moon In My Room.” And its by far coolest function allows you to sync “Super Moon In My Room” up to the phase of real-life moon via a built-in lunar clock.

Uncle Milton’s Super Moon In My Room.
Credit: Uncle Milton

The fact that “Super Moon In My Room” is larger than its predecessor is a cool nod to nature, in which a full moon at perigee (the point in moon’s orbit when it is closest to Earth) can appear up to 14 percent larger than the smallest full moon. The new model also comes with an ethereal “solar eclipse” function that backlights the darkened moon with orange light to mimic a solar eclipse.

With four buttons on its remote control, “Super Moon In My Room” was simple for my daughter, a first-grader, to pick up in a few minutes. One of two smaller buttons toggles the lamp on and off, while the other activates the solar eclipse. Pressing and holding a larger main button (used to sync the lamp up with the real moon’s phase) activates a playback of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong’s historic words: “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” It also has Armstrong’s “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Another button can play soothing nighttime sounds like crickets and such to lull a youngster to sleep. After a set time on, the lamp turns itself off to save battery.

For kids who are sticklers for accuracy, the back of “Super Moon in My Room” clearly labels the moon’s northern and southern hemispheres, so you’ll know which end is up when mounting it to the wall. As with the original “Moon In My Room,” the latest version also comes with an access code to download an audio tour of the moon for kids to learn more about Earth’s nearest neighbor.

An illustration of Uncle Milton’s Super Moon In My Room in solar-eclipse mode.
Credit: Uncle Milton

In terms of range, Super Moon can handle most kids’ bedrooms. I was able to control it with the remote from the far corner of my daughter’s room (a distance of 12 feet, 6 inches according to my measuring tape) without any issues. At times, I did have to mash the buttons down firmly, but the Super Moon still activated as designed. My daughter had no problem controlling it from her bed, either.

“Supermoon in My Room” does not come with its own batteries. You’ll need three C batteries for the moon lamp itself and two AAAs for the remote control. So that’s something to consider if you plan to give it as a gift,  and I think it does make an excellent gift.

All told, “Supermoon In My Room” is a great option for parents looking for a comforting nightlight that also might inspire youngsters to gaze up at the moon. And it adds to Uncle Milton’s family of planetary lamps, which includes “Mars In My Room” and “Earth In My Room,” as well as the ceiling mounted “Solar System In My Room.”

BUY “Super Moon In My Room by Uncle Milton >>

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

About 70 percent of the country will be able to get a good view of the total lunar eclipse tonight (Sept. 27). Unfortunately for many who live east of the Mississippi River, the odds of seeing the moon as it passes completely into the Earth’s shadow are rather poor, according to current weather projections.

Read on below to get our supermoon lunar eclipse weather forecast for skywatchers across the United States. If clouds or bad weather ruins your view, don’t fret. You can always watch the lunar eclipse online in a webcast by the Slooh Community Observatory.

You can also see the lunar eclipse webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh. The webcast will begin at 8 p.m. ET (midnight GMT). [Tonight’s Total Lunar Eclipse: When and How to See It]

Unsettled for much of Eastern U.S.

At eclipse time, a low pressure system will be located just to the east of the Georgia coast. The storm is forecast to produce scattered showers and possibly a few thunderstorms across parts of the Carolinas, and spotty light rain for Virginia and West Virginia, Maryland, western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. 

A second low pressure system over the western Gulf of Mexico is forecast to bring a swath of heavier showers and thunderstorms to parts of southeast Texas, as well as portions of the Deep South, Piedmont and Florida. Accompanying this precipitation will be widespread cloud cover extending from the Gulf Coast and Florida, north to the central and eastern Great Lakes. [Visibility Maps for the Lunar Eclipse (Gallery)]

Another area of unsettled and wet weather will be over the “Arrowhead” Region of northeast Minnesota, generated by an approaching cold front.

This map of the U.S. shows the forecast for cloud cover across North America on Sept. 27, 2015 during the supermoon total lunar eclipse.
Credit: U.S. National Weather Service

Alaska and Hawaii

And I haven’t forgotten you folks in Alaska and Hawaii. Unfortunately, Alaska will be almost completely clouded over along with areas of rain and showers. Hawaii will not fare much better for those hoping to catch the closing stages of the eclipse. Strong trade winds will keep most showers focused over windward slopes, with showers reaching leeward sides of the smaller islands over the next couple of days. Tropical storm Niala is forecast to pass south of the Big Island Sunday and Monday, and bring heavy rain to the Big Island and surf to east facing shores.

Central and West should get a good look; New England too

In contrast, most of the central and western United States, as well as New England and eastern New York State is expected to get a fine view of tonight’s total lunar eclipse. A frontal boundary situated over the central Plains and Rocky Mountains could generate some partial cloud cover but not enough to seriously hinder viewing of the eclipse. The Southwest Desert, Pacific Northwest and Californiawill be dry and tranquil … and perfect for viewing the moon show.

This map shows the areas of the world from which viewers can see the total lunar eclipse. The Americas will have a particularly good view, especially the eastern parts.
Credit: Sky & Telescope

Over New England and much of adjacent eastern New York State, the weather will be dominated by a large fair-weather ridge of high pressure centered near Nova Scotia and stretching back to the west into the Northeast U.S. Few or no clouds should be the rule for northern and central New England providing near perfect weather for the lunar eclipse. Over southern New England and eastern New York, some high-to-mid level cloudiness might occasionally drift on by. But these clouds for the most part are not opaque, so the moon might still be visible even when clouds are passing in front of it.

In short, if you live in the Northeast U.S., the farther north and east you go, the better your viewing chances; farther to the west and south, thicker clouds are increasingly more likely to eclipse the eclipse.  

A National Weather Service Forecast for You

For the very latest forecast for your local area, here is a link that lists all of the National Weather Service Forecast Offices across the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Region.  Just click on the office that serves your area to get not only the latest weather outlook, but access to local radar and satellite imagery as well:  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/organization.php.

Editor’s note: If you snap a great photo of the total lunar eclipse tonight want to share it for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. 

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer’s Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. 

As the full moon shines in the night sky tonight (Sept. 27), it will pass through Earth’s shadow in a total lunar eclipse.

You can watch the lunar eclipse in a webcast by the Slooh Community Observatory. You can also see the total lunar eclipse webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh.

As you watch and enjoy the total eclipse of the Harvest Full Moon, read on below to see 10 things about this shady little drama that might surprise you. [Tonight’s Total Lunar Eclipse: When and How to See It] 

1) How often do lunar eclipses happen?

During the 21st century, there are 85 total lunar eclipses; a specific geographical location on the surface of the Earth will be able to see an average 40 to 45 total lunar eclipses or about one about every 2.3 years. Contrast this to a total eclipse of the sun, which, as seen from a specific geographic location occurs on an average of once every 375 years.

The reason for the large disparity is simple. In order to see a total eclipse of the sun, you must be fortuitously positioned along the path of the moon’s dark shadow (the umbra) which might extend for many thousands of miles, but cannot be any wider than 167 miles in diameter. In contrast, the region of visibility for a total lunar eclipse extends to more than half of the Earth allowing billions to partake in the lunar show. [Visibility Maps for the Lunar Eclipse (Gallery)]

2) Thermal shock wave!

When the Earth’s shadow sweeps across the lunar landscape, the temperature drops radically. In fact, the resulting “thermal shock” may cause lunar rocks to crumble and gas to escape from within the moon.  Normally, as the sun slowly sets on the moon, the drop in temperature is gradual. But if sunlight is shut off when the sun is high in the lunar sky, the drop is much more rapid – over a span of just 10 to 30 minutes. 

During a total lunar eclipse in 1971, temperatures were monitored at two Apollo landing sites. At the Apollo 12 site on the Ocean of Storms, the temperature dropped from 168.3 degrees Fahrenheit (75.7 degrees Celsius) to minus 153 degrees F (minus 1021 C), a 321.3-degree change. At the Apollo 14 Fra Mauro site, the temperature dropped from 154.1 degrees F to minus 153 degrees F (67.8 degrees C to minus 102 degrees C), a change of 307.1 degrees.

3) “Hot spots” during totality

Interestingly, infrared images of the eclipsed moon have revealed literally hundreds of “hot spots” as well as large areas on the lunar surface that were warmer than their surroundings. Scans of some prominent craters, such as Tycho, seem to suggest a heat-release pattern caused principally by stored solar heat rather than heat from the moon’s interior, while other craters, like Gassendi seem to show the sort of thermal behavior that one would expect of an internal heat source. Although this phenomenon has been studied for over 50 years, and several theories have been put forth to explain it nobody has determined a definitive solution as to why such hot spots” exist when the moon is completely immersed in the Earth’s dark shadow. 

4) The longest eclipse

The longest duration of totality for a lunar eclipse is 106 minutes. This can happen when the moon crosses through the middle of the Earth’s shadow when the moon is at or very near to apogee (farthest point in its orbit from Earth). When the moon is near apogee, it is moving slower and needs a longer time to cross the Earth’s shadow.

In addition, the longest total eclipses tend to occur during the Northern Hemisphere summer, when the Earth is near aphelion (farthest point in its orbit from the sun). When the Earth is in the aphelion part of its orbit, its shadow is a little larger than when the sun is closer to us, resulting in longer lunar eclipses. The total lunar eclipse of July 16, 2000, which was visible in the Pacific Ocean, eastern Asia and Australia was one of the longest on record, lasting 106 minutes and 25 seconds. On Aug. 13, 1859, totality lasted 3 seconds longer. It won’t be until Aug. 19, 4753 will there be a longer total eclipse, with a duration of 106 minutes and 35 seconds, according to “Mathematical Astronomy Morsels II” by Jean Meeus published by Willmann-Bell, Inc. in 2002.  

5) Can total lunar eclipses foretell the end of time?

In recent years, a new term for a total lunar eclipse has been bandied about in the mainstream media: “blood moon.” 

The term came from a book that was written by a pastor who claimed that beginning in April 2014, a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses – coinciding with Jewish holidays– with six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses, is an omen of the end times. The eclipse series is called a lunar tetradand is very variable with time. The Belgian astronomer, Jean Meeus points out that no tetrads at all occurred at the time when Louis XIV was king of France, yet from 1909 to 2156 there are 16 tetrads. And during a 2,000 year interval, 25 of these began in between March 16 to May 15, meaning that there have been other periods in history where tetrads coincided with the Jewish holidays, yet nothing out of the ordinary happened! 

So the “Blood Moon Prophecy” is nothing more than a fallacy and should be filed away with the nonsensical prediction that”Rapture” and Judgement Day was to take place on May 21, 2011.

6) A moon of a different color

But should we label every total eclipse of the moon as a “blood moon?” Not necessarily!  How the moon will actually appear during totality is not known. The reason the moon can be seen at all is that sunlight is scattered and refracted around the edge of the Earth by our atmosphere. 

The color and brightness of the totally eclipsed moon depends on global weather conditions and the amount of dust suspended in the air. A clear atmosphere on Earth means a bright lunar eclipse.  But if a major volcanic eruption has injected particles into the stratosphere in the previous couple of years, the eclipse is very dark.

Some eclipses are such a dark grey-black that the moon nearly vanishes from view (can we call this a “charcoal moon?”); or glows dimly with a brownish color (“chocolate moon?”).  At other eclipses it glows bright orange like a brand new penny (“copper moon?”). So when a total lunar eclipse is due, how come we don’t hear the moon morphing into hues of charcoal, chocolate or copper? Probably because “blood” is more tantalizing and is used by some to try and arouse and provoke fear (and to sell more books).

Moon Master: An Easy Quiz for Lunatics

For most of human history, the moon was largely a mystery. It spawned awe and fear and to this day is the source of myth and legend. But today we know a lot about our favorite natural satellite. Do you?

0 of 10 questions complete

Moon Master: An Easy Quiz for Lunatics

For most of human history, the moon was largely a mystery. It spawned awe and fear and to this day is the source of myth and legend. But today we know a lot about our favorite natural satellite. Do you?

0 of questions complete

7) Can total lunar eclipses predict earthquakes?

The 1971 San Fernando earthquake (also known as the Sylmar earthquake) occurred in the early morning of Feb. 9 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. The magnitude was determined to be of Richter magnitude 6.7. Fifteen hours later, a total lunar eclipse took place and there were some that suggested that the alignment of the sun, Earth and moon was responsible.

Dr. William Kaufmann, who was the director of the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles back then and he noted that, “Today the sun and moon are pulling the Earth in exactly opposite directions. As a result, the Earth is squeezed into the shape of a football instead of a sphere, and we believe that gravitational forces and tidal stresses caused by this alignment are probably what triggered the earthquake.” However, there have been many total lunar eclipses in recent history and only a few isolated cases were accompanied by any significant earthquake activity. While the sun-Earth-moon alignment (called a syzygy) might be one ingredient in causing an earthquake, any actual relationship is highly inconclusive.   

8) How a lunar eclipse saved Columbus

When Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World, he brought with him an almanac written by a great German astronomer, Johannes Müller von Königsberg, known by his Latin pseudonym, Regiomontanus. The almanac covered the years 1475-1506. Regiomontanus’ almanac listed upcoming eclipses of the moon. 

On his third and final voyage in May 1502, Columbus became shipwrecked on the island of Jamaica in June 1503 and ran into trouble with the local natives who refused to provide food and water for his crew.  But Columbus also knew from Regiomontanus’ almanac that a total eclipse of the moon was expected shortly after moonrise on the evening of Feb. 29, 1504, so he threatened the natives to cut off the moon’s light.

 As the eclipse progressed, the frightened natives agreed to help Columbus … if he brought the moon back to them. Since he knew when totality would end, Columbus told the natives when the moon would reappear. He had no problems with the natives after that.

9) Strange Selenelions

When both the sun and the eclipsed moon can be observed at the same time we have a “selenelion” or “selenehelion.” This can happen only just before sunset or just after sunrise, and both bodies will appear just above the horizon at nearly opposite points in the sky. Although the Earth is positioned directly between the sun and eclipsed moon and seeing both in the sky is a geometric impossibility, it is possible because the  refraction of light through the Earth’s atmosphere causes both objects to appear higher in the sky than their true geometric position.

10) 2018: The next lunar eclipse visible from U.S.

The next total eclipse of the moon that will be available to North Americans will occur on the morning of Jan. 31st, 2018. Totality will be visible from the western and central portions of the continent, while the East will only see the opening partial stage before the moon sets. After that, the next time all of North America will be able to enjoy a total lunar eclipse from start to finish will be on the night of Jan. 20-21st, 2019.

Editor’s note: If you snap a great photo of the total lunar eclipse tonight want to share it for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. 

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer’s Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. 

The full moon tonight (Sept. 27) will be an especially special lunar occasion. In addition to being a traditional “harvest moon,” the moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it a so-called “supermoon.” Plus, skywatchers people across North and South America, Europe and Africa will get to see a lunar eclipse, because the moon will pass into the Earth’s shadow.

You can watch the harvest moon lunar eclipse live in a webcast by the Slooh Community Observatory. You can also watch the total lunar eclipse on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh.

But why does tonight’s full moon called a harvest moon? Traditionally, the harvest moon is the name that is assigned to the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox, which occurred on Sept. 23. (Technically speaking, it’s autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere). [Tonight’s Total Lunar Eclipse: When and How to See It]

The equinox occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator. At that time, most points on the Earth have almost exactly even proportions of day and night — 12 hours each.

Besides astronomical events, however, fall signals a time to reap the crops that have been grown all summer. That’s why it is called a harvest moon.

“Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans and wild rice — the chief Indian staples — are now ready for gathering,” Space.com’s skywatching columnist Joe Rao wrote in an article about the full moon names of 2015.

The harvest moon is also sometimes called the “corn moon,” too.

“At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon,” Rao added in a 2013 article about the moon names. “Usually the moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe.”

Editor’s Note:If you snap an amazing picture of the September 27 total lunar eclipse, you can send photos, comments and your name and location to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We’re also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

NASA will reveal a “major science finding” about Mars on Monday morning (Sept. 28), and you can follow the announcement live.

Researchers and NASA officials will unveil the discovery — which the agency described in a media advisory as a “Mars mystery solved” — during a press conference Monday at 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT). You can watch the Mars announcement live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

Participating in Monday morning’s event are:

• Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters
• Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters
• Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta
• Mary Beth Wilhelm of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and the Georgia Institute of Technology
• Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona in Tucson, principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft

NASA currently operates five spacecraft around and on Mars — the rovers Opportunity and Curiosity, which landed in 2004 and 2012, respectively, and the orbiters Mars Odyssey, MRO and MAVEN (which stands for Mars Environment and Volatile Evolution).

Mars Odyssey arrived at the Red Planet in 2001, and MRO got there in 2006. MAVEN just celebrated its one-year anniversary in Mars orbit last week.

Europe’s Mars Express spacecraft and India’s Mars Orbiter Mission probe are also still eyeing the Red Planet from above, bringing the number of currently functional Mars orbiters to five.

MRO’s HiRISE camera features a telescopic lens that can pick out features as small as 3.3 feet (1 meter) across on the Martian surface. The camera also collects images in near-infrared wavelengths, allowing researchers to learn about the mineralogy of Mars.

“These new, high-resolution images are providing unprecedented views of layered materials, gullies, channels, and other science targets, in addition to characterizing possible future landing sites,” NASA officials wrote in a description of the HiRISE instrument.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

In a total lunar eclipse this Sunday (Sept. 27), the surface of the moon will appear to be a deep crimson color, and people around the world will be able to watch the celestial spectacle online.

The so-called supermoon lunar eclipse will be visible in most of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, western Asia and the eastern Pacific Ocean. But wherever you are, you can watch the eclipse live via a webcast by the Slooh Community Observatory. The Slooh broadcast begins at 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT), and will provide views of the eclipse from three different countries, including a stream of the eclipse rising over Stonehenge in England, as well as expert commentary.

You can also watch the lunar eclipse webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh. [Tonight’s Total Lunar Eclipse: When and How to See It]

Slooh’s tops the list of several live streams to see the lunar eclipse tonight by NASA, observatories and other skywatching groups. Lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into Earth’s shadow. A moon in this position is often called a “blood moon” because the lunar surface is colored red during the event. This is caused by sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere before it hits the moon’s surface.

This weekend’s eclipse is particularly remarkable because it is also a supermoon, a full moon that takes place when the satellite is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit (also called perigee). A supermoon eclipse is a rare event: The last one took place in 1982, and the next one won’t happen until 2033. There were only five total supermoon eclipses in the 20th century. 

In addition, Sunday’s full moon is a Harvest Moon, meaning it is the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox. As a result, Slooh has dubbed the event a “Mega Harvest Moon Eclipse.”

The eclipse will begin when the tip of the moon enters the outer portion of the Earth’s shadow, starting at about 8:11 p.m. EDT (0011 GMT). The moon will reach complete totality (it will be completely submerged in the darkest part of Earth’s shadow) at about 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT). The eclipse will end at about 1:22 a.m. EDT (0522 GMT).

Editor’s note: If you snap a great photo of the supermoon total lunar eclipse tonight and want to share it for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. 

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.