Total Lunar Eclipse Visible Late Monday night

Astronomers and sky watchers in Lower Merion Township are in for a real treat Monday night, as a total lunar eclipse will be gracing the skies.

The total lunar eclipse, which happens when the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned as the moon passes through the Earth's shadow, will be best viewed starting at 12:30 a.m., and it will reach its fullness around 2:30 a.m., wrote Thomas Lee Hench, an associate professor at Delaware County Community College, in an e-mail. It will last until about 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Lower Merion Director of Parks and Recreation said the best places to view the eclipse locally will be at Rolling Hill Park in Gladwyne or McMoran Park in Belmont Hills.

"While always interesting, this eclipse will be viewable in our area and at totality the moon will be bathed in ruddy light," wrote Hench, who teaches astronomy as well as technical and university physics at the college. "In earlier times, this reddening was view as related to blood with dire consequences for the people observing it.

"It is interesting to remember how other cultures have viewed these types of celestial events and the meanings they attach to them," continued Hench, who has worked at the community college for 27 years.

The last time area residents were treated to a total lunar eclipse was back in February of 2008.

But if you happen to miss tonight's main event, you will get another chance this coming June. Until then, Hench has advice for those willing to bear the 23-degree weather and mostly clear skies tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

"Since this eclipse is occurring in December, the only special things observers need will be warm clothing," Hench wrote.