Buffalo State College Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium Director Art Gielow will host a total lunar eclipse viewing on May 15, 2003, weather permitting. The viewing is open to the public and free of charge.

The first total lunar eclipse visible in the United States in three years, and the first of 2003, will begin at 10:03 p.m. in Western New York, when the full moon begins to pass through the Earth's shadow. During the next hour, the moon will move totally within the shadow of the Earth and take on any range of colors from dark brown to bright orange or vivid red from sunlight filtering through Earth's atmosphere - the color dependent on the presence of volcanic dust in the atmosphere.

The entire eclipse will last about three hours and 15 minutes, with the totality phase lasting about 53 minutes (11:14 p.m. until 12:07 a.m.) and another hour (until 1:17 a.m., May 16) for the moon to again escape the Earth's shadow.

If the skies are even partly cloudy, Western New York should provide an excellent view of the eclipse, with the moon low in the southeastern sky at the start and moving higher toward the south as the eclipse progresses. Gielow will set up on the east side of the Science Building, accessible from Iroquois Drive. Parking is available in Lot S-1.

Gielow said no special equipment is necessary, and that unlike a solar eclipse, it is perfectly safe to view a lunar eclipse. During totality, the stars Spica and Arcturus, as well as the planet Jupiter, should also be visible.

The next total lunar eclipse viewable in America will occur on Nov. 8, 2003.

For more information, contact the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at (716) 878-4911.