The Daily Collegian
Published independently by students at Penn State
Wednesday, December 9, 1992  p. 5


Red moon will rise in evening eclipse

By RICHARD COLE
Associated Press Writer


MIAMI - The moon will rise red over the eastern United States today in an
unusual early evening lunar eclipse tinted by volcanic action on Earth.

The moon enters the Earth's shadow at 4:59 p.m. EST, and will be largely covered
by the time it appears on the horizon at 5:23 p.m., said Jack Horkheimer, Who
gives tips for amateur astronomers on PBS' "Star Hustler."

"When it rises, the moon will be very, very dark," he said yesterday. "Depending
on how much volcanic dust is left in the atmosphere from Mount Pinatubo, it
could range all the way from gray-black to reddish brown."

The erupting Philippine volcano has spewed enough dust and other material into
the air to further darken or distort the moon's color, he said.

Horkheimer, who also directs the Miami Space Transit Planetarium, is betting on
a fairly bright red, but said that could vary.

The totality phase of the eclipse begins at 6:07 p.m., and lasts until 7:22
p.m., and the moon will finally emerge from the Earth's shadow at 8:29 p.m.

That means the western United States will miss the eclipse or see only the end,
while Europe views it directly overhead - weather permitting, said Horkheimer.

Horkheimer has been touting the event on his television spot as the
"Shame-On-You, Christopher Columbus Eclipse."

In 1504, natives on Jamaica refused to deliver supplies Columbus had demanded.

Referring to a German almanac, Columbus told them the moon would rise "inflamed
with the wrath of God" because of their lack of cooperation.

As it will this evening, the moon rose reddened by an eclipse.

Columbus told the superstitious natives he would persuade his God to remove the
curse. The trick worked, and the natives were soon delivering supplies again,
Horkheimer said.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle cited the curved shadow of the planet
traveling across the lunar surface as proof the Earth was round, said
Horkheimer.

"Of course, people quickly forgot that," he noted.