TWO TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSES

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SET YOUR ALARM
The timetable of stages for both the July and December eclipses is presented in the accompanying chart. You should note that the totalities for both these events will end when the moon is low over the horizon—and thus dimmed by morning light—for eastern viewers, while the moon will still be favorably placed in darkness over the mid-western and western states as it leaves the earth's umbra. Therefore, eclipse watchers will have to either stay up quite late the night of July 5 (or December 29) or rise very early (he morning of July 6 (or December 30) to witness the spectacle.

Most amateur astronomers are willing to make that sort of sacrifice, but if you need a little extra incentive, remember that there'll be a long "drought" of total lunars after December. In fact, if you fail to see one of the eclipses in 1982, you won't get a similar chance—at least in the United States—until near the end of the decade! So don't miss that rare and beautiful hour when the fair face of the moon is shadowed and rose-tinted ... you'll be glad you gave up your comfortable bed for it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Many of our readers will remember the overview of the night skies of winter, spring, summer, and fall—written by author Fred Schaaf—which appeared in THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS ® Household Hints Almanac. Mr. Schaaf has also written a book about naked-eye observation of the sky that will be published by Dover Publications later this year . . . ask your bookseller to let you know when it's available.

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