The sky is falling!

No, not really, but there are two really cool reasons to look up into the night sky tonight.

Way back in the day, blog used to cater more to my inner geek. I wrote about why we should explore space, and ranted about the evolution versus creationism debate. I don’t remember when I last wrote on the subject, but when I saw this meme at About Miche, I couldn’t resist:

(I would’ve done better if there were more astronomy questions! Theoretical astronomy and cosmology – stuff like chaos theory and string theory and the origins of the universe – have long been a fascination of mine.)

So, back to the free show in the sky tonight. First, there will be a gorgeous total lunar eclipse tonight, and for a nice change it is both at a reasonable hour AND at least here in Ottawa, the skies should be clear. The eclipse will be visible from most of North America, as well as South America and Western Europe, and the next lunar eclipse visible in Canada won’t be until December 2010.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the earth’s shadow — that is, the earth comes between the sun and the moon (as opposed to a solar eclipse, when the moon passes between the sun and the earth.) The moon won’t disappear completely, but will become a deep red or orange colour. You can see the earth’s shadow take the first ‘bite’ out of the moon starting at 8:43 pm EST, and totality begins at 10:01 pm and will last until 10:51 pm. For more info on lunar eclipses, see this excellent primer.

As if that weren’t cool enough, you will also be able to see the American military spy satellite USA 193 as it passes over Ottawa starting at 6:06 pm EST tonight. (You can get information about tracking the satellite in your hometown’s sky starting here.) This is the satellite that’s been in the news lately for its decaying orbit – either the US military will shoot it down in the next couple of days, or it will crash to earth some time in March.

You should be able to see the satellite with the naked eye. It will be about as bright and the same size as the brightest stars, and will take about five minutes to move across the sky. It will rise in the southwest and rise more or less overhead across the southeast sky before disappearing to the northeast. This website has a star chart with the path marked across it.

Cool stuff!

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. You can’t get there from here Link surfing is a wonderful thing. I can’t even remember where I was, but I caught sight of something about a lunar eclipse on March 3. Turns out it wasn’t visible from here, only in a wide swath on the other side of the planet through Europe and Africa. Disappointing....
2. An ocean of fear So as I mentioned, we’re starting to count down to our Nova Scotia vacation this summer. We’ve got a beautiful seaside cottage booked that has all the amenities I could possibly want or need, save for one: the bed doesn’t have any seatbelts or restraining straps. Not for the toddler,...
3. Northern lights alert The skies over Ottawa may or may not be clear over the next couple of nights, but at least it will be mild. That will make it a lot more comfortable for me as I stand out on the back deck, scanning the skies for the northern lights. According to...
4. Yay day! It’s been a few weeks since we’ve celebrated a yay day around here. The sun is shining and it’s two weeks until our Bar Harbor vacation, which are two things worth celebrating all on their own right, but I have more! My bliss right now comes from the fact that...
5. Friday Family Fun: Calypso Water Park – and a giveaway!!!!! It’s no secret that I love Calypso Water Park. I went on a sneak-peek tour when they were getting ready to open it last year, and I blogged about our first visit last summer. We’ve since been two more times, including on Canada Day this year. This most recent visit...