don't forget there's a lunar eclipse wednesday night!

how cool!


The lunar eclipse will create a stunning effect in the sky. (Elliot Severn/Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society)

Stargazing eclipsed by lunar event
RICHARD WEIZEL rweizel@ctpost.com

STRATFORD — On a particularly dark and misty night last week about a half-dozen people ranging in age from 11 to 60 gathered around a high powered telescope in a small two-room observatory at Boothe Memorial Park.
It wasn't the best of nights to be stargazing, but that didn't seem to deter this group.
Instead, they talked excitedly about what it's like when they can look up beyond the night sky and see planets, stars and galaxies — some as close as Venus and Mars, others that are light years away, and likely don't even exist anymore.
Now, these astronomy buffs, members of the 55-year-old Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society, are getting ready for something special — a major astronomical event they will view from the park Wednesday when up to 500 people are expected to turn out to watch a total lunar eclipse between 10 and 11 p.m.
"People will come and spread out on blankets and lawn chairs, or just stand and gaze up and see something special," said Mark Holden, the society's vice president and Trumbull resident, who has been a member for 30 years. "Society members will set up about a half-dozen of our own telescopes that are just right for seeing the eclipse, and people can line up and take turns."
The eclipse, which allows the moon to be gradually covered by the Earth's shadow, culminates in the moon appearing to be engulfed in an "eerie coppery glow," society members said, that some describe as reddish orange..........