Super-Moon Total Eclipse! A Skygazing Night Hike at Mason Mill Park

PHOTOS ABOVE:  The time-lapse photo collage above depicts the progressive phases of a total lunar eclipse over about 5 hours.  The dark shadow of the Earth gradually sweeps across the face of the full moon as the moon's orbit takes it directly behind the Earth with respect to the Sun.

FINAL EVENT UPDATE and WEATHER PROGNOSIS as of Sun at 6:00 PM:  For any of you who still would like to join us we're definitely still on for the advertised short "night hike," but  sadly Atlanta's "skygazing forecast" tor tonight is not good, and we'll forgive any of you who choose not to join us after all!
  With just 3 hours now till Eclipse time the latest NOAA.gov hourly graphical forecast expects that clouds will continue to cover about 95% of the sky.  On the "plus" side, the probability of showers is only about 30% and it will be in the comfortable high 60s.  Thinking optimistically there's still a slim possibility that we may catch glimpses of the beautiful moon from time to time through small breaks in the clouds - as happened last night around the campfire for those of us at Dauset Trails.
  Any of you who wish to stay home can simply walk outside at any time between about 9:00 and midnight and look upward toward the East, and you may get lucky with a view of the eclipse through the clouds!  -Charlie

On the evening of Sunday Sep 27 the heavens have a really nice treat in store for earthbound skygazers.  Not only will it be the time of the closest, biggest and brightest full moon of the year - a.k.a. the "Super Moon..."  It will also be the night of a total Lunar Eclipse!
  Hope you can join us for an AOC group viewing of this amazing phenomenon, weather permitting, which will include the bonus of a short AOC "night hike."  Between 8:30 and 11:30 PM we expect to have nice views of the different dramatic phases of the Eclipse, as depicted in the above photo collage.  We'll have several pairs of binoculars on hand to share and may also have a couple of telescopes.

We'll gather betweem 8:15 and 8:30 PM just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance by the stone restroom building and the kids' playground.  (See detailed Directions below).  If the weather is at all clear we should notice some darkening of the Moon just as we begin to arrive. (See "Eclipse Timetable" below.)  After introductions we''ll begin with an easy 1-hour hike (about 2 miles) on the lovely trails that connect Mason Mill & Medlock Parks during which we expect to have lots of glimpses of the full Moon as it rises higher in the sky and continues to darken.   By about 9:30 we plan to be atop the high wooden deck on the PATH Trail, not far from our cars.  By then the "Partial phase" should be noticeable, with the dark shadow of the earth progressing slowly from left to right across the face of the moon.  If the weather is mostly clear the deck will also be a fine spot for viewing the eerie Total phase of the Eclipse and also numerous other interesting sky objects including the Andromeda Galaxy, 2.3 million light years away!

We'll target being back at the cars by 11:30 PM.  Feel free to "split" early from the group if you like at any time, but please let us know when you do so - it will be easy to direct you back to the parking lot.

ECLIPSE TIMETABLE for all places in the Western Hemisphere using Eastern Daylight Time:
8:12 PM: 1st Penumbral phase begins as the Earth blocks some rays of the Sun from reaching the full Moon.
9:07 PM: 1st Partial phase begins as Earth's "Umbra" (darkest shadow) begins to cause a noticable arc-like shadow to appear on the left side of the Moon.
10:11 PM: Total Eclipse begins as the Earth's umbral shadow blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.  The darkened Moon will likely appear reddish due to refraction of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere.
10:47 PM: Mid-Eclipse: The moment when the Moon is in the center of the Earth's umbral shadow.
11:23 PM:Total Eclipse ends as a thin crescent of sunlight begins to appear on the left side of the moon.
12:27 AM: 2nd Partial phase ends as the Earth's dark umbra moves to the right of the Moon.
1:22 AM: 2nd Penumbral phase ends (and Eclipse is entirely over) when Earth's penumbral shadow no longer blocks any rays of sunlight from reaching the Moon.

FOR MORE LUNAR ECLIPSE INFO + VIDEO CLIPS, ETC. click these links:
http://www.stargazersonline.org/episodes/1538.html
http://www.space.com/15689-lunar-eclipses.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2015_lunar_eclipse

ABOUT the PARKS & TRAILS:  Mason Mill and Medlock are two pretty DeKalb County parks located just east of Clairmont Road near Emory University and the VA Hospital.  They conveniently connect with one another via a network of hiking/biking paths and boardwalks.  The mile-long South Peachtree Creek Trail is the main trail through this shady corridor, and like the better known Silver Comet Trail it was designed and built to the high standards of the "PATH Foundation."  The trail features a half-mile-long raised deck through the forest canopy above the rocky creek.  Another exciting portion of this trail takes us over the railroad track via a 3-stories-high wooden walkway and deck.  Hikers are treated here to aerial views of the restored ruins of the early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks, and the high deck is also a great spot for viewing sunsets, the moon, stars & planets, eclipses, comets and meteor showers.
  Lots of creekside spur trails branch from the PATH trail into the surrounding forest and offer lots of fun optional places to explore on the return hike.  One such spur takes us on stepping stones across Peachtree Creek to Ira Melton Park with its half-mile-long white-blazed loop trail.
  Another option (but more suitable for a 3-hour hike) is to walk a few blocks beyond Medlock to lovely Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve and include a short "wetlands" loop there before heading back via Medlock to our vehicles at Mason Mill.

FOR a COLOR MAP of SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK TRAIL and its interconnecting DeKalb County parks (Mason Mill, Medlock, Ira Melton & Clyde Shepherd) click on this link:  http://pathfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/south-peachtree-creek-trail.pdf

FROM the I-85 CLAIRMONT ROAD EXIT in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click on the square blue & green "Event Location" near the top of this article.)

1. From the I-85 "Clairmont Road" Exit (Exit #91) in NE Atlanta take Clairmont Rd southward (toward Decatur) about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (This is the next light south of the big Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection.  If you reach the huge VA Hospital you've gone a couple of blocks too far!)

2. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive, go just 0.1 mile, and turn Right at the stop sign to stay on McConnell. (Note the small "Mason Mill" directional sign here.)

3. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign into the large free parking lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building near that main entrance adjoining the children's playground.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Mason Mill Park spot where we'll meet: (You GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to augment my above verbal directions by entering these map coordinates as your destination address.)
  33.8080,-84.3066

Free Event with Free Parking!