On Wednesday, February 20, 2008, beginning at 10:01 EST, 9:01 CST, 8:01 MST, 7:01 p.m. PST, etc., the moon will move completely under the shadow of the Earth in a total lunar eclipse. The eclipse can be seen in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. Hope for good weather because the next total lunar eclipse won’t happen until December 2010.

The moon will be completely under Earth’s shadow for about 50 minutes. During this time, the moon won’t be completely obscured because of indirect light coming from the Earth’s atmosphere. But the moon will appear to change colors from light gray to orange or deep red. The shade depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Remarkably, there has been a good history of sightings of cryptids, including Bigfoot, during the New Moon, when there is no illumination from the moon.

Will there perchance be any observations on the seas or in the wilderness areas during this total lunar eclipse?

Due to the strong past correlation between good sightings and no light from the moon, can we expect anything tonight?