lunar eclipse tonight

For those of you lucky enough to live on the west coast of North America or the east coast of Australia (and New Zealand) and willing to stay up pretty late tonight -- actually early tomorrow morning, you're going to be treated to a full lunar eclipse.

It will reach its greatest eclipse at 10:37:22.3 UTC, which is 3:37am in my neck of the woods. But don't wait that long, though, unless you're really pressed for time or sleep. The total eclipse views can be had starting at 9:52 UTC and last until 11:22 UTC. If you've got the time to spare and the weather's nice, get there about an hour earlier than that to watch the Moon drift into Earth's shadow.

Oh, and this is a naked-eye event. You don't need a telescope, just a clear western view and some caffeine. If you've got a pair of binoculars and a friend or spouse, those are great to have with you as well. For photographers, take tripod for multi-second exposures. If you haven't shot the moon before, I recommend bracketing your shots as the moon drifts into and out of the Earth's umbra when the contrast is really high. Take lots and lots of shots during totality -- you might even get lucky and catch the first ever spark of a meteor exploding into the eclipsed Moon.

Photo by Flickr user tizianoj and used under a Creative Commons license.