Open fires are prohibited throughout the park from midnight to 4 p.m. through April 30 per the 4 p.m. Burning Law. This includes wood and charcoal. Gas is permissible. Campground fires are allowed during the restricted time if a camp host is on duty and signage to that effect is posted in the campground. Failure to observe the 4 p.m. Burning Law can result in a fine. Contact the Park Office for additional information.

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We're all familiar with the Moon. Our eyes are pulled towards it. It's surrounded with romance, intrigue, and mystery. It’s the brightest object of the nighttime sky, and has a long and important history with humanity’s culture as well as certain cycles of our natural world.

Earth's only natural satellite - the moon - Virginia State Parks
A picture of Earth's only natural satellite by Steve Andrews

One of the most stellar and special events related to the moon is an eclipse. We periodically experience the most dramatic of these as a total lunar eclipse, which always happens during a full moon. And one will be visible in Virginia on September 27, 2015.

What makes an eclipse?

In one word, syzygy (ever used that in Scrabble?). Syzygy is when three celestial bodies, or objects in space, line-up.

For a solar eclipse the order would be the sun, moon, and Earth. For our upcoming lunar eclipse it's a line-up between the sun, Earth, and our moon. Earth will block the sun's light from illuminating the moon, causing an eclipse. Some eclipses are partial, but this one is special. It's a total lunar eclipse. It's a Supermoon. And it's the Full Harvest Moon.

How rare is this event?

You'll have to wait until January 31, 2018 for another total lunar eclipse in Virginia, and until 2033 for another Supermoon eclipse!

Here's a video showing the timing of this celestial event:

Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

As you can see the reddish orange glow begins between 10:15 pm and 11:23 pm, peaking at 10:47 pm.

We don't get to see Earth's shadow very often. The penumbra is when only part of Earth's shadow covers the moon, compared to the umbra, when all of Earth's shadow covers the moon. During Earth's umbra is when we see that reddish glow. We'll talk about what causes this color change in our next installment.

Why will this Full Moon look bigger?

Each month as the Moon circles, or orbits, Earth, it goes through two points called perigee and apogee, corresponding to its closest and furthest points from Earth. This Full Moon happens to align with its perigee, hence a Supermoon. It can appear brighter and up to 14% bigger in diameter.

Think of the moon's orbit as a slightly smushed circle instead of a perfect circle. That shape is called an ellipse. This video clip highlights the elliptical orbit of the Moon which results in the changing distance from Earth. 

Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

On average the Moon is around 239,000 miles from our planet. This Supermoon will be a little less than 222,000 miles from Earth, which is why it will appear slightly bigger. And yes, higher than usual ocean tides can be expected for a couple days around this time as well.

This month's moon is called the Full Harvest Moon because historically Native Americans gathered corn and other crops during this time of year. Appalachian settlers also sometimes gathered crops by the light of the moon to beat the heat of hard work.

A Full Harvest Supermoon eclipse, what a way to kick off the fall season. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to view and you don't need a telescope to enjoy them.

Think about staying at one of our Virginia State Park's cabins, lodges, or campgrounds (like at our only International Dark Sky Park - Staunton River State Park) so you can view the total lunar eclipse in a beautiful location away from light pollution and welcome in the beginning of Autumn in a stellar way. Get outside if you can, this is a unique experience worth seeing.

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If you have read the article and have a question, please email nancy.heltman@dcr.virginia.gov.

COMMENTS

Johnny (September 24, 2015 09:31:02 PM):

I'm so excited about this event. Really looking forward to see the blood moon.
 


Blanca (September 23, 2015 03:45:46 PM): What a great article! I love reading things from Adam. Very informative :)

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