Cloud cover cancels this event.  Check this webpage two hours prior to the start of the event for any cancellation announcement.  View the current weather forecast here.

Help us promote this event.  Download this 8-1/2" x 11" flyer, print it out, and post it at your school, your workplace, your local coffee shop, or your local library.

Notes to the Public

THIS IS A FREE EVENT.  Join members of the MIRA Astronomy Club to view a (nearly) total lunar eclipse.  Watch the moon slip into the earth's shadow, meet with club members and professional astronomers from MIRA.  Bring a beach chair and warm clothing

EVENT REGISTRATION:  On-line registration for this event at the MPRPD website opens one month prior to the date of this event.  To register, click here, then click on "Star Gazing" in the program headings, then scroll down to the bottom of the webpage and select this event.  Registrants will receive email (or text?) notification if the event is canceled due to cloud cover.

Prior to attending this event, please review our guidelines on public star party etiquette.

Below is a map detailing where to park and how to walk to the Visitor Center, where telescopes and binoculars will be set up:

Notes to MIRA Astronomy Club Members

Volunteers are needed for this event!  Click here to confirm if you plan to participate with your telescope (or tripod-mounted binoculars).  The event is scheduled to begin at 8:30pm.  Therefore, plan to arrive with your stargazing equipment by 7:30pm, to give yourself adequate time to unpack, move your car, and set up your equipment.  The park entrance gate should be opened by 7:30pm.  Parking is available near the Visitor Center, as shown in the map below.  NEW:  there is a concrete pad in front of the Visitor Center labeled for handicap (ADA) parking.  This pad and access to it by car must remain clear before, during and after this event.  If you qualify for access to such parking, click here prior to the day of the event to reserve the space.

What Causes a Lunar Eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon's orbit places the moon directly behind the earth during a full moon, when viewed from the sun.  The moon passes into the earth's shadow.  During eclipse totality, the moon's color changes to a deep red/orange.  This is due to the refraction of sunlight through the earth's atmosphere, with red wavelengths being refracted more than other wavelengths, thus bending around the earth to the moon.

The timing of the eclipse at the event location:

  Eclipse Stages             Local Time
1 Penumbral phase begins     Aug 27 at 6:23pm
2 Partial phase begins       Aug 27 at 7:33pm
3 Maximum eclipse (96%)      Aug 27 at 9:12pm
4 Partial phase ends         Aug 27 at 10:52pm
5 Penumbral phase ends       Aug 28 at 12:01am