Ah nuts, once again it seems Podunkians will be denied one of the few free shows left in the world.
Later this evening, in those parts of the world where the clouds do not gather there will be a total eclipse of the moon available for the viewing. Expected to begin around 7 pm Pacific time, tonights event will be the last opportunity to view a total eclipse of the moon until December 20, 2010. Unlike the solar eclipse, the lunar variety can be viewed with the naked eye without fear of damage to your eyesight.
As an added bonus for those that like to watch the sky, there's the added possibility of the shooting down of a failing satellite, a controversial bit of pro-activeness by the US Navy, that may see streaking pieces of space trash burning up in the atmosphere.
As for the more predictable events, the eclipse will also serve to accentuate a couple of the moons background neighbours, Saturn with its numerous rings will be easily seen with a telescope while the bright star Regulus will also be easily picked out of the night time sky.
Well, at least it will be easily noticed in those areas where the skies are clear, apparently not a scenario in place for the North Coast as the Environment Canada forecast is for overcast skies and showers through the evening and overnight hours.
There's a clearing trend for Thursday, so maybe with a little luck the skies will clear a little early to give us a shot a seeing the show.
Associated Press--Total eclipse of moon occurs Wednesday night
Arizona Republic--Omens, evil dragons, Red Sox wins: What will lunar eclipse bring today?
National Post--Space show: satellite shot and a total lunar eclipse
USA Today--Viewers Guide to the Lunar eclipse
AFP--Get ready for the eclipse that saved Columbus
Sky and Telescope--Tonight's Eclipse of the Moon
Nasa--Eclipse home page
Science and Technology--Lunar Eclipse Overview
Live Science--Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight
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