There will be a total eclipse of the Moon on the evening of Tuesday May 4th when the full Moon will pass through the western part of the Earth's shadow. The moon will first be dimmed, in the partial eclipse phase, by the Earth's outer shadow, or Penumbra, and finally becomes a total eclipse as the Moon enters the Earth's inner shadow, or Umbra. The eclipse will be visible from all parts of the UK, Europe, Africa.

Unlike a total solar eclipse, during total lunar eclipses, the Moon is not blotted out, but rather goes a deep copper colour, like that of a penny coin. This is due to sunlight being filtered and refracted (bent) by the Earth's atmosphere before reaching the Moon. This is a spectacle well worth watching, and can be seen without any aids.

In the UK, western Europe & west Africa, the eclipse starts just before moonrise, when the moon is low on the eastern horizon. For most of Africa and Asia all the phases of the eclipse can be seen, while in the Far East and Australasia, the eclipse happens at moonset.

Information taken from: The Salopian Web

Weather permitting there will be a live webcast of the May 4th total lunar eclipse as seen from the Netherlands and Belgium.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~carlkop/eclipsmaan/leclips2004.html or through Astronet's main page: http://www.astronet.nl

From BBC News On-Line:

Total eclipse to paint moon red

The Moon is to turn blood-red during a total lunar eclipse in UK skies, the Royal Astronomical Society has said. The total eclipse will already be under way as the Moon rises on Tuesday evening but will only become visible as the Sun sets and the sky darkens. The eclipse will be visible from 20:52 BST to 22:08 BST

A dim reddish-brown Moon should climb slowly above the south-east horizon. Society member, Dr Jacqueline Mitton, said: "Lunar eclipses are a fascinating and beautiful phenomenon, and no two are quite alike."

Dr Mitton said: "If the weather is kind to us, this could be a very interesting sight, with the eclipsed Moon becoming more and more obvious as the sky gradually darkens after sunset and the Moon gets higher in the sky."

Lunar eclipses occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in a near-perfect line in space. The Moon travels through the long cone-shaped shadow the Earth casts in space and takes on a dark coppery or orange tone.

In November last year, a total lunar eclipse was visible from Europe, Africa, the Americas and much of Asia.

The BBC weather forecast for Tuesday night is for rain over Scotland and Northern Ireland, extending to much of Wales and parts of south-west and north England. Showers elsewhere will fall back to coastal districts of the east and south. It will become mainly dry in many central parts of England and Scotland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3681773.stm

:( Sadly we never got to see anything from Shrewsbury due to cloud and rain!

:) There is however another chance to see a full Lunar Eclipse in October this year.