Partial Lunar Eclipse to Take Place Sept. 17

Sep. 16, 2024

Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – Northern Alabama will be able to witness a partial lunar eclipse on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 17, and the Planetarium on the University of North Alabama campus will have a public observing event with telescopes for participants to view and photograph the eclipse.

“Lunar eclipses occur when the full moon passes into the shadow of the Earth,” said Dr. Mel Blake, Planetarium Director and Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy. “The result is the Moon slowly goes from a full Moon to a dark red color and back to completely full in a few hours. Since this is a partial eclipse, only a portion of the Moon will be eclipsed by the Earth, but it will still make for an interesting event.”

The partial eclipse will begin at 9:12 p.m., while the maximum eclipse is at 9:44 p.m., and the eclipse ends at 10:15 p.m. The entire partial eclipse will be visible from Alabama. No particular or specialized equipment is required to observe a lunar eclipse; although, a telescope and binoculars will enhance the overall experience.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.