Birmingham area night owls can catch total lunar eclipse tonight

If the weather is clear tonight, the sky may turn spectacular after midnight as the moon sails through a total eclipse.

Total lunar eclipses are dramatic and visually compelling. Often the moon looks red-orange because sunlight, which is bent as it moves through the Earth's atmosphere, has its blue wavelengths scattered away, leaving only the warmer hues.

"Many people also find that the eclipsed moon looks much more three-dimensional, hanging in front of the background stars, than the dazzling full moon does," said Bill Keel, professor in the physics and astronomy department at the University of Alabama. "There is much more of a sense that this is a ball."

Depending on the amount of clouds and volcanic dust in the atmosphere where the sunlight is bent, the moon could also appear dark gray.

Keel will hold a public eclipse watch beginning at 11 tonight and continuing through 3 a.m. Since the moon doesn't begin to move into the Earth's shadow until 12:33 a.m., visitors will first have a chance to look at the massive planet Jupiter.

Total eclipse begins about 1:41 a.m. and lasts until about 2:53 a.m., according to the website MrEclipse.com.

If people stay late enough, they will also have the chance to see the massive ringed planet Saturn after it rises, Keel said.

"The eclipse is a chance to watch orbital motions play out," Keel said. "And lunar eclipses were the first evidence that the Earth is round, because the shadow of Earth is curved as it moves across the face of the moon."

Also tonight, University of Montevallo professors will photograph the moon at the James Wylie Shepherd Observatory, said Michael Patton, one of the professors. The observatory's 20-inch scope will be tied up with cameras, but public visitors can look at the eclipse through a smaller telescope and some very good binoculars, Patton said. The observatory is three miles from the main campus.

"Weather permitting, we will be there by 12:30 a.m. and will stay until the end or until we fall asleep," Patton said. "If it is cold, visitors should dress appropriately and consider bringing hot chocolate."

A lunar eclipse is a long event, and most people just view part of it, Patton said.

"The most exciting parts for most people are the very beginning and the end," he said, "along with the exact halfway point."