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A total lunar eclipse will occur at night on December 10 (Saturday) and will be visible in Hong Kong if the weather is fine.
Scientific Officer of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Woo Wang-chun, said, "The duration of the whole process (from the moon entering the penumbra to leaving the penumbra) will last six hours, the longest period of lunar eclipse visible in Hong Kong since the year 2000. As the elevation of the moon will be rather high during the eclipse, most places with an unobstructed view to the east are suitable for viewing the event. If the weather is fine, the conditions will be very favourable for viewing the eclipse.
"The moon will not completely disappear but will appear coppery-red in colour during totality. This is because sunlight scattered or refracted by the Earth's atmosphere will be projected onto the moon," said Mr Woo.
A webcast of the event, covering the time the moon enters the umbra until it leaves, will be jointly provided by the Hong Kong Observatory and the Hong Kong Space Museum on the following webpage: www.weather.gov.hk/gts/hksm/astrophoto.htm (Please refer to figure 1 of attachment 2 for relevant QR code).
Additionally, the Hong Kong Space Museum will organise an observation activity titled the "Night of Total Lunar Eclipse", in the central section of the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui from 7.30pm to 11.30pm.
"The public will have the opportunity to observe the total lunar eclipse with telescopes and various kinds of astronomical instruments under the guidance of Space Museum staff. The activity is provided free of charge and no registration is required," said the Curator of the Space Museum, Mr Chan Ki-hung.
Please refer to attachment 1 for details of the moon's path during the eclipse. An animation of the lunar eclipse is also available on the Hong Kong Space Museum's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/hkspacem) (Please refer to figure 2 of attachment 2 for relevant QR code).
Details of the lunar eclipse are as follows:
Hong Kong Direction Elevation
Time (Azimuth)
--------- --------- ---------
Moon enters 7.32pm East-northeast 26 degrees
penumbra (75 degrees)
Moon enters 8.45pm East 42 degrees
umbra (79 degrees)
Total eclipse 10.06pm East 60 degrees
begins (83 degrees)
Middle of 10.32pm East 66 degrees
eclipse (84 degrees)
Total eclipse 10.58pm East 72 degrees
ends (85 degrees)
Moon leaves 12.18am Northeast 90 degrees
umbra (next (52 degrees)
morning)
Moon leaves 1.32am West 74 degrees
penumbra (next (274 degrees)
morning)
Please refer to the Hong Kong Observatory website for an explanation of the cause and different stages of a lunar eclipse:
www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2011/lunar_eclipse_e.htm (Please refer to figure 3 of attachment 2 for relevant QR code).
The next lunar eclipse potentially observable in Hong Kong will occur on June 4, 2012, which will be a partial eclipse. Also in 2012, an annular solar eclipse will be potentially observable in Hong Kong on May 21, and a transit of Venus on June 6. Both are rare astronomical phenomena.
Ends/Thursday, November 24, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:05
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