From: Blaine Watson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 8:53 AM To: undisclosed-recipients: Subject: tonight's eclipse
An eclipse in jyotish is considered inauspicious and is something to be avoided. I am getting a lot of flack from new age types who are always trying to convince me that everything is good, light and dark. This is true in the cosmic sense. An eclipse is good, for disease and starting wars and famine and drought etc. So shadows are not good in the progressive and healthy sense of the word and are to be avoided. The eclipse tonight begins at 5:43 pm pacific time and totality is at 7:01 pm pacific time. Draw your curtains. Say inside and do not allow the shadow to be seen and especially do not let the shadow touch you. We should not eat or drink anything while an eclipse is going on. It is a good time to meditate. I had said in my first announcement 2 weeks ago that the eclipse was on the 21st. That was calculated from Greenwich. My apologies for any confusion. I hope the below information helps. It came directly from the NASA eclipse page at NASA - Total Lunar Eclipse: February 20, 2008 A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the night of Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event is visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21). During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray. An eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. If only part of the Moon passes through the umbra, a partial eclipse is seen. However, if the entire Moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the Moon occurs. rom start to finish, February's lunar eclipse lasts about three hours and twenty-six minutes (not including the penumbral phases which are very difficult to see). The partial eclipse begins as the Moon's eastern edge slowly moves into the Earth's umbral shadow. During the partial phases, it takes just over an hour for the Moon's orbital motion to carry it entirely within the Earth's dark umbra. The color and brightness of the totally eclipsed Moon can vary considerably from one eclipse to another. Dark eclipses are caused by volcanic gas and dust which filters and blocks much of the Sun's light from reaching the Moon. But since no major volcanic eruptions have taken place recently, the Moon will probably take on a vivid red or orange color during the total phase. After the total phase ends, it is once again followed by a partial eclipse as the Moon gradually leaves the umbral shadow. The total phase of a lunar eclipse is called totality. At this time, the Moon is completely immersed within the Earth's dark umbral shadow. During the February 20 eclipse totality will last just under 50 minutes. This is quite a bit less than the last total lunar eclipse ( August 28, 2007) which lasted 90 minutes. The major phases of the eclipse occur as follows (all times are GMT or Greenwich Mean Time). The partial eclipse commences with first umbral contact at 01:43 GMT or 8:43 pm EST. Totality begins at 03:01 GMT, 10:01 pm EST and lasts until 03:51 GMT, 10:51 pm EST. The partial phases end at 05:09 GMT. February's lunar eclipse is well-placed for North and South America as well as Europe and Africa. Observers along North America's west coast miss the early stages of the partial eclipse because it begins before moon rise. Alaskans in Anchorage and Fairbanks experience moonrise during totality but bright evening twilight will make it difficult for sourdoughs to view the event. Western Europe and northwest Africa also see the entire eclipse. Further to the east (east Africa and central Asia), the Moon sets before the eclipse ends. None of the eclipse is visible from eastern Asia or Australia. Preceeding and following the eclipse are hour-long penumbral phases but these are faint and quite difficult to see. The more interesting and photogenic partial and total phases always take center stage to the penumbral phases. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.8/1288 - Release Date: 2/19/2008 8:47 PM
