David Leake
The United States was in a prime orbital position and time of day to view the eclipse on April 15, 2014. Depending on local weather conditions, the public got a spectacular view looking into the sky as the moon's appearance changed from bright o
NASA/Public Domain

Rare Super Moon And Lunar Eclipse Sunday

On Sunday night, a total lunar eclipse will coincide with a super moon and a blood moon for the first time in over three decades. When a super moon occurs the moon is at its closest point to the earth and can appear up to fourteen percent larger. The red tint of a blood moon is a side effect of the lunar eclipse where the moon passes into its own shadow. This combination won’t happen again until 2033.

New Horizons was about 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers) from Pluto and Charon when it snapped this portrait late on July 8, 2015.
NASA-JHUAPL-SWRI

Pluto Fly-By: Reaching New Horizons

Eighty-five years after Pluto was discovered by an astronomer from Illinois – the New Horizons spacecraft will fly by Pluto and show us what this far-off world looks like. David Leake, the head of Staerkel Planetarium, fills us in on what to expect and the Central Illinois connection to Pluto. 

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