Wednesday's total lunar eclipse may be a doozy

It's a good thing none of us are cavemen, or Wednesday night we might find ourselves on a panicked run for ironwood clubs and sharpened mastodon bones.

Around 8 p.m., when a total lunar eclipse darkens the moon and imbues it with shades from copper to crimson, we unlike our forebears - will have the advantage of knowing we're in for a really good show.

Rain clouds could obscure view of eclipse

GRAPHIC: Learn about the lunar eclipse

Cavemen weren't so lucky.

"In the distant past, people took lunar eclipses as omens of bad things to come. They didn't have the means to understand what was happening," says Claude Haynes, Gilbert sky watcher and East Valley Astronomy Club president.

For early man, a blood-red sphere hanging in the sky was a scary thing, a message from an angry god. The sphere's appearance was believed to foretell famine, disaster and misfortune. References to the eerie spectacles appear in the Bible and in records kept by Christopher Columbus, who reported using an eclipse to trick natives on what is now Jamaica into feeding him and his men.

Today, given clear skies, it's a reason to tear yourself away from "American Idol" and get outside.

"Another lunar eclipse won't be this visible to us for another couple of years," says Haynes, whose club will host public viewing of the event at the Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory near Greenfield and Guadalupe roads.

The moon will begin to slip into Earth's shade, conveniently, around 7 p.m. Total eclipse, when the moon is completely cloaked in our planet's shadow, should occur by 8 p.m. The next lunar eclipse that will occur prior to midnight won't take place until 2015.

Haynes recommends paying attention to the space in the middle of the moon, where its surface changes from light to dark. That's where you'll see the greatest contrast of light and shadow, which will define the moon's peaks and craters in a way hard to see on the usually flat-looking orb. Optimal viewing will likely occur between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. After that, the moon will edge out of the shade and into another phase of partial eclipse.

Making the event even more striking is the presence of a few other heavenly bodies.

"Saturn is going to be visible close to the moon, and you'll be able to see it even better as the glare of the moon lessens," Haynes says. Many stars, including the bright-bluish Regulus and winter constellations Orion, Taurus and Gemini will be more visible than usual as well. Mars is also in the sky, sitting two months removed from the closest it will be to Earth for another eight years.

Unlike solar eclipses, the moon's passage through Earth's shadow is completely safe to view with the naked eye. A pair of binoculars will help you see it even better.

"It really can become a neighborhood event," Haynes says. "Eclipses kind of bring people out of their houses and into their driveways. They get people talking."

That's better than defending your cave from moon-crazed marauders any night of the week.

Photographing the eclipse

Wednesday’s lunar eclipse is safe for your eyes and your camera. While you’ll need a long telephoto lens attached to an SLR or DSLR camera to achieve full-frame, calendar-quality images of the moon, some point-and-shoot digital cameras should produce decent snapshots for the amateur sky gazer Wednesday night.

According to Keith Sonnenberg at Tempe Camera, point-and-shoots with a power of 6x or higher are best. “Anything lower isn’t really going to give you much of a shot at a good picture,” he says.

That’s because the moon will appear tiny through most point-and-shoot viewfinders. Instead of trying to get a gorgeous, all-moon shot, your best bet, says Sonnenberg, is to introduce some perspective. Find something interesting for the foreground — the mission-style bell tower of your neighborhood church, the citrus tree in your backyard, the signpost at the end of your street — and frame it so the moon is in the background. Not only will you capture the moon, you’ll introduce some personal context to your photo.

You can also try placing the camera on a tripod or other stable surface, and using the self-timer feature to cut down on movement and vibrations.

For tips on shooting the eclipse with digital point-and-shoots with a full range of f-stop and shutter speed settings, as well as SLR and DSLR cameras, check out www.mreclipse.com/LEphoto.

Sky gazing

When: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, 2757 E. Guadalupe Road, Gilbert

Cost: Free, but $3 suggested donation

Information: www.eastvalleyastronomy.org

What: See the eclipse through a telescope set up by the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. ASU Planetarium coordinator Daniel Matlaga will be there to answer questions. The event will be canceled if its raining.

When: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Where: On the south side of Tempe Town Lake, near the parking lots at Rio Salado Parkway and Ash Avenue.

Cost: Free

Information: (480) 965-5081