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A total lunar eclipse will occur during the evening of April 4 (Saturday) in Hong Kong. Details of the eclipse are as follows:
ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@Hong Kongˇ@ˇ@Directionˇ@ˇ@ˇ@Elevation
Timeˇ@ˇ@ˇ@ˇ@ (Azimuth)
--------- --------- ---------
Moon enters 5.00pm - Below
penumbra horizon
Moon enters 6.15pm - Below
umbra horizon
Moonrise 6.33pm East -1 degree
(96 degrees)
Total eclipse 7.54pm East-southeast 17 degrees
begins (104 degrees)
Middle of 8.00pm East-southeast 18 degrees
eclipse (104 degrees)
Total eclipse 8.06pm East-southeast 20 degrees
ends (105 degrees)
Moon leaves 9.45pm East-southeast 40 degrees
umbra (120 degrees)
Moon leaves 11.01pm Southeast 54 degrees
penumbra (139 degrees)
Similar to the eclipse on October 8 last year, a special feature of this lunar eclipse is that the eclipse will already be in progress before moonrise. The total eclipse will begin about one hour and 20 minutes after the moonrise. The duration of the whole process (from moonrise to the moon leaving the penumbra) will last for four hours and 28 minutes, with the total eclipse lasting for 12 minutes. This astronomical event will be visible in Hong Kong if the weather permits.
As the elevation of the moon will be rather low during the eclipse, the event will be best observed at places with an unobstructed view to the horizon in the east and southeast, such as Shek O, the east dam of High Island Reservoir and on top of Tai Mo Shan. Members of the public can also watch the event via a webcast from moonrise to the moon leaving the penumbra, which will be jointly provided by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Hong Kong Space Museum, the Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre, Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College and the Solar Tower on the following webpage: www.weather.gov.hk/gts/event/webcast-20150404.htm .
The Space Museum will organise an observation activity entitled "Night of Total Lunar Eclipse", along the middle section of the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui from 6.45pm to 9.45pm. The public will have the opportunity to observe the lunar eclipse through telescopes under the guidance of Space Museum staff. The activity will be provided free of charge and no registration is required.
The path of the moon during the eclipse can be found in the attached diagram. An animation of the lunar eclipse and the eclipse data are also available at the YouTube channel of the Space Museum (www.youtube.com/hkspacem/) and the Space Museum's mobile app "Star Hoppers" respectively. During the total eclipse, the moon will not completely vanish but will instead appear dull red in colour. This is the result of the blue part of sunlight being scattered away by the Earth's atmosphere and the remaining red light being refracted onto the moon.
The total lunar eclipse on April 4 will be the third episode of the ongoing tetrad eclipse, with the first one starting on April 15, 2014. Tetrad is a term for describing four consecutive total lunar eclipses with an interval of six full moons. The remaining episode will occur on September 28 this year, but it will not be visible in Hong Kong. The last tetrad eclipse occurred from 2003 to 2004 and the next tetrad will occur from 2032 to 2033.
Please refer to the respective links at the Observatory's website for a detailed explanation of a lunar eclipse and highlights of the joint webcasting of the total lunar eclipse on October 8, 2014:
www.hko.gov.hk/gts/event/event-lunar-eclps1_e.htm and www.hko.gov.hk/hkonews/D2/sl20141010.htm .
For the weather on April 4, please refer to the latest "9-day Weather Forecast" issued by the Observatory at the following website: www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/fnd.htm .
As regards the astronomical observation conditions on that night, please refer to the "Weather Information for Astronomical Observation" webpage: www.hko.gov.hk/gts/astronomy/astro_portal.html.
Ends/Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:40
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