Twilight Partial Lunar Eclipse (Morning July 17th)

On the morning of Wednesday 17 July there will be the a twilight partial eclipse of the Moon.

The 17 July eclipse starts after twilight has begun in the eastern states, with maximum eclipse after sunrise and the Moon low to the horizon. In the central states the eclipse starts just before astronomical twilight when the sky is fully dark, with maximal eclipse just before civil twilight and the Moon low to the western horizon. In Western Australia most of the eclipse occurs when the sky is quite dark and the Moon is reasonably high for most f the eclipse as well . See timings table below.

Although the eclipse is only partial around half the Moon is covered in the deepest shadow.  In the eastern and central states a lot of the eclipse is in twilight, but even twilight eclipses look amazing.

You don’t need special filters or fancy equipment to watch the lunar eclipse, you just need your eyes and somewhere comfortable to sit and watch. Watching earth’s shadow creep across the Moons face, as the stars begin to appear again is quite beautiful. The moon is very obvious to the west. Binoculars or a telescope are a plus, but not necessary.

A guide I wrote for the October 2014 lunar eclipse to taking photos of the eclipse is here.

See here for a map and contact timings in Universal Time for sites outside Australia