Rice Observatory offers free viewing of Feb. 20 eclipse

Rice Observatory offers free viewing of Feb. 20 eclipse

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

The Rice University Campus Observatory will open for a free public viewing of a relatively rare total lunar eclipse Feb. 20 from 7 to11 p.m.

RANDALL J. SCHOLTEN

This series of images taken Aug. 28, 2007 shows the different stages of a total lunar eclipse .

The moon will begin to pass through the darker part of the Earth’s shadow beginning at 7:43 and will take on a bronze or reddish appearance once it passes completely behind the Earth’s shadow from 9:01 through 9:51. The total eclipse will end at 9:51, and the moon will progressively return to full, passing completely out of the Earth’s shadow at 11:09.

Weather permitting, faculty, staff and students from Rice’s Department of Physics and Astronomy will assist members of the public in viewing the eclipse from several telescopes.

The observatory is a teaching facility for Rice undergraduates. It is located on the north side of campus, near entrance 20 off of Rice Boulevard. Nearby paid parking is located just inside entrance 20 in the North Visitor Lot. Free parking, with shuttle bus service, is available west of Rice Stadium via entrance 13B off of Greenbriar Avenue. For more information, call the Rice Space Institute at 713-348-4939 or visit http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~ruco/observatory.html.