Campus News

View Sunday's Total Lunar Eclipse at Campus Observatory

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2015) — If you look up to the sky Sunday night, Sept. 27, you will see a red-tinted moon, a bit larger and brighter than usual  a supermoon lunar eclipse. A rare event, this has only happened five times since 1900.

And a campus spot, the MacAdam Student Observatory, is offering the best view. The observatory — with a powerful telescope and location atop the Rose Street Parking Garage (Parking Structure #2)  will open its doors to the public Sunday night, weather permitting.

The eclipse will begin at 9:06 p.m. EDT and will last a little more than three hours, ending at 12:28 a.m. Sept. 28.

During a total lunar eclipse, the moon passes directly behind the Earth into its shadow; an astronaut standing on the moon would see no part of the Sun. They would instead see only a sliver of reddish light scattered around the edges of the Earth.

"They would be seeing light from all of the sunrises and sunsets on the Earth at the same time," said Tim Knauer, director of the MacAdam Student Observatory. "Therefore, the moon will take on a copper or reddish hue for the same reason that sunsets are red."

The sight of a somewhat larger and brighter moon, or a "supermoon," as it is unofficially referred to, will also occur because of the full moon cycle coinciding with the closest approach to Earth during its orbit.

The Rose Street Parking Garage is located at 301 Hilltop Ave. On nights open to the public, observatory visitors may park at the top of the parking structure. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Harder, 859-323-2396, whitney.harder@uky.edu