Get out your binoculars! Should the clouds concede a bit of open sky in the coming weeks, here are a couple interesting things you might see:
The Eta Aquariids are a meteor shower that occurs every spring as Earth passes through the remnants of Halley's Comet from one of its past journeys through our solar system. The best time to see them this year will be in the very early morning hours of May 6th.
On the evening of May 15th into May 16th, the moon will be passing through the Earth's shadow, a total lunar eclipse. Over a four-hour period, Bob King says there are lot of interesting moments to observe. The initial, "penumbral" phase will begin at about 9:15 p.m. CDT, becoming total at about 10:29 p.m., peaking at 11:11 p.m., and moving out of totality close to midnight. Total lunar eclipses are not consistent in color. Depending on the amount of particulate in the Earth's atmosphere (varying from eclipse to eclipse depending on the amount of volcanic activity) the color of the moon at the moment of greatest eclipse can range from orangish red to nearly dark.
May 15, 2022
9:15 p.m. CDT - Penumbral eclipse visible
9:28 p.m. - Start of partial eclipse
10:29 p.m. - Totality begins
11:11 p.m. - Greatest eclipse
11:54 p.m. - Totality ends
May 16, 2022
12:55 a.m. - Partial eclipse ends
1:10 a.m. - Last sight of penumbral eclipse
