Lunar eclipse viewing tips

Tonight's lunar eclipse will already be underway by the time the moon rises in Southern California, but will only be in it's early stages. The peak viewing is from 7:00 to 7:51. The picture above , which illustrates what to expect during the course of the evening, is from the Griffith Park Observatory, which will be hosting an eclipse event tonight

The moon should be in the eastern sky, at the 77 degree compass reading (slightly north east).

To my thinking, that might eliminate the hills above Pasadena and other foothill cities as being the best vantage points, since the moon will likely be blocked when it first rises. By 7:00, it is supposed to be high enough in the sky to be seen from everywhere.

The other issue, of course, is the bad weather. Tonight's forecast in the San Gabriel Valley calls for partly cloudy weather. Since the night lasts from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., it's a crap shoot whether the skies will be clear during the peak viewing time.

I scoped out some weather reports in nearby areas for committed eclipse viewers, and the beach areas around Malibu have a slightly better forecast of "mostly clear," so a beach viewing might work. The Antelope Valley has the same forecast as the San Gabriel Valley. Out in the Mojave, Barstow has a clear forecast, but there is partly cloudy weather forecast in Victorville, so getting out under the desert stars could make for a long drive. Palm Springs has rain forecast for tonight. I think the best bet to guarantee viewing is to drive up the 15 Freeway until the sky clears. After all, it is the last eclipse until 2010, so the effort might be worth it.

The Griffith Park Observatory is free and open to traffic and has telescopes for public viewing, as well as loudspeaker presentations on what is going on during the eclipse. If the weather is clear, it should be the place to be.