The weather might not be perfect everywhere, but in many Croatian towns you will be able to see the eclipse with a little help from astronomers.
It will be the longest lunar eclipse of this century in Europe. The Moon will turn dark red, as it will be shielded by the Earth from the Sun, and the phenomenon will last for almost two hours. At the same time, Mars will be extremely visible as it is closer to the Earth than it has ever been in the past 15 years, so tonight is a night to watch the skies.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast tells us that in most of Croatia the weather will not be favourable, as a bit of cloud will prevent us from seeing any of that. The Croatian Astronomy Association, however, is a group of optimists, so what they’ve done is organised the viewings of the eclipse in more than 15 Croatian towns. They will set up some of their equipment, telescopes that will help you see the eclipse better, and will be ready to help you appreciate the moment with their knowledge.
In Korčula, there is an active Astronomical Association, and each year they organise similar events for local people and their guests: this year it was just so obvious when the viewing was going to happen. So, if you’re into space, go down to the Monument right by Old Korčula Town, there will be people with telescopes who will be happy to share the fun of watching the skies with you. And there will probably even be a clear sky during that period between 20:00 and midnight, which will also greatly improve your experience.
The list of organised viewings by the Croatian Astronomy Association (all of the events will start either at 20:00, or at 20:30):
DARUVAR – At the location of the futur observatory in Lower Daruvar
DUBROVNIK – St. Ivan Fortress
ĐAKOVO – Đakovo Bajer (behind Kaufland)
KOPRIVNICA – City fairground
KORČULA – Monument in the town centre
KORENICA – Observatory
KRIŽEVCI – Strossmayer Square
KUTINA – Observatory
LOŠINJ – Ridimutak Beach (Nerezine)
OGULIN – NK Ogulin training stadium
OMIŠ – Near caffe bar Dal Mare
PULA – Observatory at Monte Zaro
RIJEKA – Astronomy center Rijeka (Sveti križ 33)
SPLIT – Mosor Observatory
VALPOVO – parking behind Lidl and Plodine
VARAŽDIN – Old Town
ZADAR – Obala kralja Petra Krešimira IV
ZAGREB – Sava Levy to the west of Jarun
