Hiram – Stephens Memorial Observatory, in cooperation with the Village of Hiram, will host an eclipse viewing and stargazing night from 8:30 PM to 12:30 AM, September 27 – 28. The event is free and open to the public. The viewing will take place from the Hiram Park playing field next to the Hiram Municipal Building, 11617 State Route 700. The observatory will not be open. Overcast or inclement weather conditions will cancel this open-air event.
On the night of Sunday, September 27, Earth’s shadow will cross the face of its Moon and viewers across North America will be treated to a total lunar eclipse. Northeastern Ohio is in luck this time as the entire eclipse will be visible to us — a marvelous and relatively rare situation — with the most exciting portion of the eclipse taking place before midnight, in “prime time.”
As the earliest phase of the eclipse begins, viewers will see the full moon gradually dim and its features becoming less distinct. When the partial eclipse begins, observers see the dark portion of Earth’s shadow slowly move across and obscure the full moon’s disk. As the shadow deepens, the Moon will begin to turn a copper-red color until, at totality, Luna will glow dimly in our star-sprinkled sky. As the eclipse ends, the process reverses until, in the wee hours of Monday, the Full Moon will again brightly shine.
Those who cannot attend the event can easily watch from home — no telescope required — all that is needed is to be able to see the Moon!
Here are the Eastern Daylight Times for important points of the eclipse event:
Partial umbral (dark shadow) eclipse begins: 9:07 PM, September 27
Total eclipse begins: 10:11 PM
Greatest (darkest) point of eclipse: 10:47 PM
Total eclipse ends: 11:23 PM
Partial eclipse ends: 12:27 AM, September 28
