Oct. 23, 2014 partial solar eclipse at maximum eclipse, as seen from Madison, Wisconsin. Illustration courtesty of timeanddate.com.

We lucked out with clear skies in Madison for the total lunar eclipse last week. Hopefully our luck will hold for the partial solar eclipse next week.

Shortly before sunset next Thursday, viewers in western and northern North America will see nearly half of the sun eclipsed by the moon at maximum eclipse. Here in Madison, we’ll see less than half the sun eclipsed, but the eclipse will be greater in the Northwest United States and British Columbia.

In Madison, the timing looks like this:

• 4:33 p.m. – partial solar eclipse begins
• 5:41 – maximum eclipse (nearly half the sun eclipsed by the moon)
• 6:01 – sunset

For eclipse times in other locations, visit timeanddate.com and enter your city.

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April 15, 2014 lunar eclipse over Madison, seen from Maple Bluff. More photos.

Update (Oct. 8): I snapped some pictures of this morning’s lunar eclipse. You can see them in my Flickr gallery.

Original post: I’m looking forward to our second total lunar eclipse of the year tomorrow morning (Oct. 8). Fortunately, the forecast for Madison calls for clear skies, so we’ll hopefully have a great view of the eclipse.

Here in Madison, timing for the eclipse looks like this:

• 4:14 a.m. – Lunar eclipse begins (partial eclipse)
• 5:24 – Total lunar eclipse begins
• 5:54 – Maximum lunar eclipse
• 6:24 – Total lunar eclipse ends (partial eclipse)
• 6:33 – Dawn (civil twilight)
• 7:03 – Sunrise
• 7:08 – Moonset

In Madison, the moon will sink lower and lower in the western sky during the eclipse, so you’ll want to find a spot with a good view of the western horizon for the best view of the eclipse.

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