Those of you who live in the North America* will be treated to a total lunar eclipse tomorrow night (Monday night/Tuesday morning)! The whole thing unfolds over about 3.5 hours, starting at 1:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Lunar eclipses are cool, but slow. They’re not like solar eclipses which last a few minutes at most; the shadow of the Earth is quite large, and it takes the Moon a while to move through it (also unlike a solar eclipse, lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to watch with your eyes, with binoculars, or through a telescope without protection). Not only that, there are two parts to the shadow: the outer penumbra, which is very difficult to see when it falls on the Moon, and the much darker umbra, which is what really casts the Moon into the dark. In other words, things really gets started when the Moon moves into the umbra.
Sky and Telescope’s website has an excellent description of the timeline. The Earth’s dark shadow takes its first bite starting around 1:32 a.m. Eastern time (all times will be Eastern from here on out). Over the next 45 minutes or so, the Moon will plunge deeper into shadow, and the entire disk will be covered starting at 2:41 a.m. It’ll stay this way for over an hour, and then at 3:53 a.m. will begin to leave the shadow. An hour or so later, at 5:00 a.m., it’s all over, and the Moon will be restored to being full. Note that the farther west you are, the earlier this happens in the evening. For me, in Mountain time, it starts at the much more palatable 11:32 p.m. Monday night.
To someone viewing from the United States, you’ll see the eclipse start on the lower left part of the Moon. It really will look like a bite is taken out, and that dark bite will grow left to right. When the Moon begins to leave the shadow you’ll see the upper left part of the Moon becoming bright, with the illumination growing from left to right.
It’s hard to predict what you’ll see during that hour of totality. As weird as it is to believe, sometimes the Moon gets so faint it’s hard to see at all. I remember when I was in high school there was a lunar eclipse so deep I had to search the sky to find the Moon! It was that hard to spot, and really odd. But sometimes, atmospheric conditions on Earth will cast an eerie, blood-red shadow on the Moon. You can see that in the eclipse sequence picture above; during a 2007 eclipse Greek amateur astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis captured the orange-red color of the Moon during totality. I’ve seen this many times myself, and it’s really quite stunning, and worth staying up (or getting up early) to see. Also, the Moon does not pass directly through the center of the Earth’s umbral shadow, so the top and bottom halves of the Moon may be dramatically different in appearance and color. There’s no way to predict this, so you’ll just have to go out and see for yourself.
If it’s cloudy where you are, or you’re on the wrong side of the planet, never fear: you can still get a look because NASA is hosting a live chat and video feed of the eclipse! JPL has set up a Flickr page for people to post their pictures of the eclipse, too.
If you Americans miss this eclipse, you’ll have to wait over three years before the next one, which occurs on April 14, 2014. Europe, Africa and Asia get the next lunar eclipse on June 15, 2011. Also, Africa, Europe, and parts of Asia are treated to a partial solar eclipse on January 5, 2011, in just two weeks! See Fred Espenak’s eclipse website for details.
Image credits: Anthony Ayiomamitis; Sky and Telescope.
* It’s visible in South America and in western Europe and Africa, but the sun rises in the middle of the eclipse; it’s also visible in Australia, New Zealand, and extreme eastern Asia, but the eclipse will have already started at moonrise.
December 19th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I’ve been looking forward to this for over a year now, and, naturally, here we have rain forecast right through it.
Hoping others enjoy seeing it directly, though.
December 19th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I’ll try to get my caboose in gear and see it.
I got a good photo 2 or 3 years ago, so I won’t bother with photography:
Jeebus was that a cold night! At least it happened earlier in the evening…
December 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
[...] of you who live in the North America* will be treated to a total lunar eclipse tomorrow night (Monday night/Tuesday morning)! The whole [...]
December 19th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Thanks for the timeline on the eclipse. I live on the shore of Lake Ontario, so I can get a nice view over the lake.
Is it true that a Lunar Eclipse hasn’t happened on the winter solstice in about 400 years? I keep seeing that part mentioned, but I don’t know if it is true, or one of those hoax parts to make the event more interesting (like Mars being the closest it would be to the earth in x years).
December 19th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
If you are on Tumblr, take a picture of the Lunar Eclipse and post it! It will be fun to see all the shots.
http://itsathought.tumblr.com/
December 19th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
[...] More info here [...]
December 19th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
@2. Mykel: Wikipedia says that no Lunar eclipse has happened on a winter solstice since 1638 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse).
December 19th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Looks like it’ll be cloudy here, but I’ll definitely be watching the NASA feed. I’ve seen solar eclipses, but never a lunar one (oddly, as they seem to be more common).
December 19th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
This eclipse should be darker than most, because it’s a winter eclipse and the Earth’s northern hemisphere is facing the full moon and most of this northern limb will be in clouds since winter is the cloudiest season.
But, since there have been no really large and dusty volcanic eruptions, it won’t be as dark as the December 30, 1963 lunar eclipse! An eruption of the volcano Mount Agung in Indonesia had filled the stratosphere with dust and acid droplets, causing beautiful sunsets that summer and autumn.
The eclipse was after midnight and my father and I stayed up late to see the it from our home in Toronto. However, as often happens there, especially in winter, clouds from Lake Ontario drifted over the sky as the partial eclipse was underway. Not to be cheated, we drove north, racing against the clouds and we finally emerged into a cloudless, starry sky near the town of Aurora around 4 AM. We got out of the car and saw the beautiful winter-spring sky full of stars and the Milky Way, but there was no moon!
Darn, it’s got to be there, we thought because the full moon stays up all night, right? Knowing it must be in the west, I scanned and scanned for it and finally saw a faint, almost invisible patch of nebulosity in the constellation of Gemini. The apparent magnitude of the entire lunar disk was around +4!
A similar circumstance happened for a lunar eclipse on December 30, 1982, as the volcano El Chichon had erupted in March. However, the moon did not pass as close to the center of the Earth’s shadow as it did on Dec 30, 1963 and so, although much of the moon became almost invisible during totality, a portion near the limb stayed a bit brighter. Even so, this portion was merely a brighter brownish-gray, not the normal red color exhibited by the totally eclipsed moon.
December 19th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
What effect will local wildfires (about 100 miles away) have on the color of the eclipse? Is there any way to guess at that kind of thing?
December 19th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
I’ve found a ton of great viewing information on this site. http://www.spacedex.com/lunar-eclipse – Hope you all enjoy Monday’s show!
December 19th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Will be watching and imaging from Astroguyz HQ in Hudson, Florida: http://astroguyz.com/2010/12/18/astroevent-a-solstice-eclipse/
December 19th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I think the brightness of the eclipse has to do with how clean the stratosphere is. After a volcanic eruption the lunar eclipses were really dark, but these should be pretty bright.
December 19th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Phil have you seen our sat for colorado? we are getting hammered with snow for the next few days. no eclipse for us.
December 19th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
[...] http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/19/lunar-eclipse-monday-night/ LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]
December 19th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I will probably miss this, we are on the road doing extensive driving and I doubt I will be awake enough to stay up and watch the eclipse. I will need the sleep to make the cross-country drive on Tuesday. Everyone take Good pictures!
December 19th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
[...] let’s be timely. Lunar eclipse over North America Monday night. Check it [...]
December 19th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
[...] let’s be timely. Lunar eclipse over North America Monday night. Check it [...]
December 19th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I remember when I was in high school there was a lunar eclipse so deep I had to search the sky to find the Moon!
I think I have memories of that same one. The Moon was like a dark, dead cinder against the stars. I remember I was really struck by what seemed to be its enhanced three-dimensional nature – probably because of the stars visible so close to its edge.
December 19th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
We’ve had cloudy skies and snow almost every day for the past 3 weeks so chances are we’ll have more of the same eclipse night. I’ll probably be too tired from shoveling us out to stay up late anyway.
December 20th, 2010 at 2:03 am
I will be watching the full moon rise just to the left of Mount Rainier, then start it’s shadowing as it moves over the mountain. If it is clear- it will be COLD.
December 20th, 2010 at 2:59 am
[...] Lunar eclipse tonight: Those of you who live in the North America* will be treated to a total lunar eclipse Monday night/Tuesday morning! The whole thing unfolds over about 3.5 hours, starting at 12:30 a.m. Central time. (DiscoverMagazine) [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 3:03 am
What’s even cooler is that the eclipse will finish just minutes before the solstice sunrise lights up the inner chamber of the passage grave at Newgrange, just a bit away from us here in Dublin!
The Irish Times has the story
December 20th, 2010 at 3:37 am
The partial solar eclipse you mentioned will be on the 4th of january 2011, not on the 5th!
December 20th, 2010 at 4:41 am
Off-topic: Purdue, Imperial College London have a cool meteoroid impact simulator.
http://www.purdue.edu/impactearth
I’ve been playing with it a bit and this triggered some questions from my side about the effects of the density of the incoming object. Maybe some of you have the answers.
Suppose a 10 cubic meter fragment of a neutron star would fall to Earth (45 degrees angle, 50 km/s). I can get the tool to work this out, but what I was thinking about is the added effects caused by the neutron star fragment’s density, what with all the neutron-degeneracy and all.
1. Does the tool correctly show the energy released? Would the fact that the compact neutron structure being violently disassembled add significantly to the total energy involved?
2. Do neutron star fragments stay dense during millions of years of space travel, or will they – since ‘self’-gravity is no longer strong enough to cause neutron-degeneracy – break up or expand en route?
Sorry about the blatant change of topic, please ignore if this is considered not-done.
December 20th, 2010 at 5:32 am
[...] blog has a nice talk about lunar eclipses, with pointers to lots of other information: Check it out here. It doesn’t start until 1:30 am. Tuesday and is in totality from 2:40 a.m. to 3:50 [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 5:38 am
[...] What, exactly, is the point of watching a lunar eclipse? Why can’t I just close my eyes? Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait explains what’s so cool: Sometimes, atmospheric conditions on Earth will cast an eerie, blood-red shadow on the Moon… [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 6:45 am
[...] states for retirees…Spoiler: He won Survivor:…All you need to know about the eclipse…Good Samaritans save a deer, get fined for [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Cool article! I am just SO pleased that the author actually acknowledges the Mountain Time Zone. We NEVER get any mention anywhere–it’s like we don’t exist. I WILL stay up and watch, in MTZ!!!
December 20th, 2010 at 8:03 am
@8 Joseph G:
Lunar eclipses are actually less common than solar ones. However, when they do happen they’re visible over an entire hemisphere, whereas solar eclipses have a narrow track on the ground. So for a given location, you’re more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar one (especially a total solar).
December 20th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Heavy clouds forecast here, so I’m a bit disappointed. BTW, I was reading the chapter on the moon’s orbit and phases in Bad Astronomy, and I think it’s a bit confusing. In fact, everything out there on the subject is a bit confusing. It seems to me that the Moons orbital path is on a different axis than the Earth’s path around the Sun, and that’s why we get a full moon when the Moon is “behind” the Earth without usually getting an eclipse, but that doesn’t seem to be spelled out so well in the book (or maybe I’m wrong and I’m just paraphrasing exactly what I read and was only confused because it came late in the discussion). But either way, somehow I have trouble picturing it. I need more diagrams and video models to make this sink in.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:53 am
@23 Amadan,
Great story, thanks for the link. I liked the interview with Prof. Tom Ray [great name!]:
“He would not be drawn on whether the juxtaposition carried some portent, some special omen about the future.
“I don’t do astrology,” he said.”
December 20th, 2010 at 9:01 am
This sounds cool! I wish that I could see it!
December 20th, 2010 at 9:14 am
[...] So, you see: It’s pretty simple. But you might be wondering: What, exactly, is the point of watching a lunar eclipse? Why can’t I just close my eyes? Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait explains what’s so cool: [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Here is a funny take I wrote on the eclipse:
http://www.spellingchimp.com/2010/12/lunar-eclipse.html
Read it if you want
December 20th, 2010 at 9:33 am
[...] we can watch the Earth’s shadow fall across the Moon. Literal cosmic events. People around the world will look up and watch this happen. This transcends [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Cloudy and snow in Winnipeg, so no viewing for me. At least it will be warm, -13C tonight!
December 20th, 2010 at 10:31 am
I am so mad it will be raining! I am still going to the Griffith Observatory but I am upset I can’t see the actual eclipse.
December 20th, 2010 at 11:02 am
The Shadow & Substance site has a nice animation (and many cool diagrams) of tonight’s lunar eclipse: http://shadowandsubstance.com/
Besides the live webcast of the eclipse from Huntsville, AL mentioned by Phil, the Coca-Cola Space Science Center in Columbus, GA plans a live webcast beginning at midnight Eastern Time: http://www.ccssc.org/webcast.html
Hopefully neither site will be clouded out (as well as my location in Tampa, FL).
December 20th, 2010 at 11:04 am
[...] we can watch the Earth’s shadow fall across the Moon. Literal cosmic events. People around the world will look up and watch this happen. This transcends [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Now, if this rain storm that isn’t going to clear up until Wednesday would just clear up Monday…
December 20th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
[...] What, exactly, is the point of watching a lunar eclipse? Why can’t I just close my eyes? Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait explains what’s so cool: Sometimes, atmospheric conditions on Earth will cast an eerie, blood-red shadow on the [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
[...] 11:30pm mountain, and 10:30pm pacific. For more details and a good rundown of what to expect, visit Bad Astronomy, and for a good explanation of the red/orange hue, visit this NASA [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
[...] atmospheric conditions on earth can cast “a blood red shadow on the moon,” according to Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait. See you tonight under the big, black sky with the blood red [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@#30 Donnie: Really! I didn’t know that. That makes sense, though – the earth is a bigger target (for a shadow, that is). Perhaps it’s just that solar eclipses get so much more media attention…
December 20th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
@#25 Dr Sy: I’ve often wondered about what happens to degenerate matter when it’s divided into smaller bits (possibly because of all those comparisons you read in science books, ie “A teaspoon of neutron star would weight a million kajillion pounds” or somesuch).
I would think that at some point, a smallish portion of neutronium would just explode into “normal” gas when separated from the intense gravity of an N-star. What would be the dividing line (of mass), though, above which the neutronium would be self-stable?
I suck at math, but I’m guessing that the calculation would be somewhat similar to determining the Schwartzchild radius of a given amount of mass, but in reverse, and with a lower density threshold.
In any case, liberating a blob of neutronium from a neutron star’s surface gravity would take a terrifying amount of energy – I’m thinking about at least several tons moving at a very high percentage of the speed of light.
December 20th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Well, luckily I don’t have to be at work till 11am, so I may get at least some sleep. I hope my camera can get some shots of it.
December 20th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Rain, rain, rain…
December 20th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
It’s cloudy here in Vancouver … as it usually is in the winter here.
In anticipation of the clouds, I made a simulation video of what the total lunar eclipse will look like from Vancouver BC.
It can be viewed at these links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suraky/5276196427/
or here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvzu7U1yc-M
December 20th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Unfortunately, it looks like MOST of North America will be under clouds: http://www.weather.gov/sat_tab.php?image=ir
Citizens of Mexico, get your cameras ready!
December 20th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
[...] Käes on viimase 372 aasta pimedaim päev – Discovermagazine [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
@49 Ken
Nice animation. I see M 35 (& NGC 2158) will be situated close to the eclipsed moon. Definitely will have a (telescopic/binocular) look during totality.
December 20th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
What’s the web address of the nasa feed?
December 20th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
[...] solstice may be even darker: There will also be a lunar eclipse in North America, when the moon will move into the shadow of the earth, and the normal illumination from the sun will be temporarily lost. (Because of cloud cover, we [...]
December 20th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Not good. I saw the full moon scooting through thick clouds a few minutes ago but the solid overcast has since clamped shut. It’s 8:00 CST so there are hours to wait before the eclipse. I’m hoping that the sky will grow enough clear spots that I’ll at least get glimpses of the eclipse.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
– Clement Clarke Moore, “Twas The Night Before Christmas”
December 20th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
No joy for Southern California because IT WON’T STOP RAINING!!! AAAAAA!
AAAAA!
This is “supervillain plot in action” weather.
Been going for nearly a week now, and they say Tuesday and Wednesday is when the “real rain” moves in.
Someone detonate something somewhere to disrupt this thing, will ya?
December 20th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
QuietDesperation — the first time I hitchhiked through LA and environs, lo these 40 years ago, was the first time I discovered that phunky phenomenon called “fog.” It as only then (and a few months later during a visit for a softball game in equally funky El Centro) that I understood why Tom Waits sang so low and Johnny Otis had the West Coast Blues. Here’s sending good vibes your way for a clear sky.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Does anybody know a clear cloudless spot in southern california where you can see the solar eclipse? i really don’t want to miss out!
December 20th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
well what time dose it come out in texas
December 20th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
i live in so calif in high desert and its pouring rain here – am hoping maybe cnn would carry it – do not get the nasa tv channel
December 20th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
After many days of cloudy/foggy mornings, we finally have clear skies here in Denmark. Looking good so far
December 20th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Yay! The rain stopped and the clouds have thinned to “foggy”.
The first lunar eclipse on the winter solstice (aka my birthday) in almost 400 years and I get to see it! (Somewhat.)
December 21st, 2010 at 12:02 am
It’s started! In north Florida I have clear skies. It seems to me that the initial shadow is darker than I remember other lunar eclipses being, but I may simply be mistaken due to the super bright moon as a contrast.
Memories are not to be trusted.
December 21st, 2010 at 12:03 am
For those of you under clouds, I’ve been having luck with this stream from Miami, FL: http://www.wpbt2.org/stargazer/
December 21st, 2010 at 12:57 am
Phew, it’s cold out there! At least it’s a warmer night than average this time of year. I went out about 20 minutes late and the moon was already 1/4 in shadow. Stayed out until totality, on top of a silvery RV sunshade and under a blanket. Now an hour inside to warm up, then back out for the finale ^_^.
Oh, and an awesome night for this, too. Nearly totally clear skies, save for some high-up cirrus clouds which put a huge ring around the moon at the beginning. The ring stretched to just above Orion’s belt. Saw at least 5 shooting stars as well. Too bad my camera cannot take good pictures in this light.
December 21st, 2010 at 12:59 am
[...] So, you see: It’s pretty simple. But you might be wondering: What, exactly, is the point of watching a lunar eclipse? Why can’t I just close my eyes? Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait explains what’s so cool: [...]
December 21st, 2010 at 2:47 am
Lunar eclipse and the solstiversary…
I wish I had pictures, but the cloud cover was too spotty and it was so cold that I couldn’t feel my toes. In any case, the lunar eclipse was lovely, and I’m glad we got up early to see it. According to The Bad Astronomer, it’ll be a …
December 21st, 2010 at 3:21 am
It stayed cloudy in Vancouver. I managed to take a few shots, but with the clouds totality was nearly over by the time I even had the camera focused properly. There weren’t really breaks in the clouds so much as thinnings.
December 21st, 2010 at 7:32 am
Why do I keep seeing news articles about this being the darkest day in 372 years? Wouldn’t a much more common new moon happen on the solstice and create a much darker, long solstice night?
December 21st, 2010 at 8:33 am
Sadly, the clouds started off thick enough that I could rarely catch a glimpse of the moon at all as the eclipse began, and moved to completely obscuring by the time of totality. So I went to bed.
December 21st, 2010 at 10:29 am
There is such publicity about the “rarity” of this cosmic event in respect to it falling on the day of the solstice. Yes it has been 372 years since the last time it coincided on Dec21, but no one seems to mention that the next total lunar eclipse falling on the winter solstice is 2094, 84 years, some of us will still be around for this. Eclipses are cool enough without people tagging specific dates to them. It doesnt matter what date they occur we should make the attempt to go and witness it.
December 21st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Rare cloud thinning/breaks provided several glimpses of the moon in shadow, just after the moon began to leave the shadow, and just before the shadow was completely off the moon. The clouds looked like they ended just north of me, but looking at the weather maps, that appears to have only been an illusion.
December 21st, 2010 at 1:33 pm
i wonder today i was jogging in al arabi stadium 8:00 PM what i saw up in the sky very dark, and the moon is a color blue, what is the meaning of sawing falling star? because i saw falling star 8:00 pm in qatar doha decmber 21,
December 21st, 2010 at 5:25 pm
@tata: no particular meaning, other than you were in the right place at the right time to see a bit of space dust, which has been traveling for who knows how long, enter Earth’s atmosphere right above you. Sure, lots of people see lots of shooting stars, but when you consider the odds of you seeing that one particular one at that exact time, it’s impressive.
December 22nd, 2010 at 9:38 am
easons Greetings!
It was a beautiful sight and I always wonder what the Earth looks like from the moon when this happens! Also I wonder, since the moon always moves away from the “cone” of the Earth’s shadow so we don’t have regular eclipses like this and so you’d miss seeing what the Earth looks like from the moon if you were there then, would it be possible to build a satellite that would fly in such a way that it will stay in the “cone” where the Earth eclipses the sun so you can always see by TV the same eclipse as you would when the moon is in the “cone” of the Earth’s shadow? Hope I asked this right!
Merry Christmas all!
December 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 pm
@Tiffani: Dish Network has on one of their satellites a camera which they use for their “Dish Earth” channel. And every night the satellite goes into eclipse. The only problem is the camera’s sensor has been damaged by high-energy rays and particles from the sun, so when the sun is behind the earth, all you really see is a lot of multi-coloured dots caused by the damage. I don’t expect a camera on or orbiting the moon to fare much better.
December 22nd, 2010 at 4:33 pm
I want to use your photo of the lunar eclipse in may art. I created a drawing during the eclipse ( not exactly about it). I want to put the photo you did below the drawing because it will make it more historical. Let me know if this is OK> Marie Mellott
December 22nd, 2010 at 5:13 pm
i was just asking about that because i thought it just a fairytale story. but now ibelieve that theres a real falling star, because i saw it in my eyes and i dont know that time is also the moon was is something showing me empressive i take a picture from my neighbore house, it is very beautiful house. i wonder why i should like to take a pictures on this house with that moon?after a minute ago about 8:OO PM quarter i sse it is like a light i dont know how to explain that star is like a lightball and so fast passing on the sky and fast gone . that it. thats why i search on this website
December 22nd, 2010 at 5:38 pm
i was just asking about that because i thought it just a fairytale story. but now ibelieve that theres a real falling star, because i saw it in my eyes and i dont know that time is also the moon was is something showing me empressive i take a picture from my neighbore house, it is very beautiful house. i wonder why i should like to take a pictures on this house with that moon?after a minute ago about 8:OO PM quarter i sse it is like a light i dont know how to explain that star is like a lightball and so fast passing on the sky and fast gone . that it. thats why i search on this website when i have time to up load my pictures from that blue moon you can see at my facebook, to marie mellott:merry christmas to all! and happy new year!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 23rd, 2010 at 8:11 am
> 77. 24601 Says:
> December 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 pm
> @Tiffani: Dish Network has on one of their satellites a camera which they use for their “Dish Earth”
> channel. And every night the satellite goes into eclipse.
Naw. Those were cheapie optics like Dish Network’s programming, not quality gear like the Japanese lunar orbiter’s. Anyway, geosync orbit isn’t far enough out to be within the focii to reproduce the Earth eclipse effect from the moon’s orbit, and you have two options which could even do better. Put a spacecraft in lunar orbit or its own orbit around the Earth, which has far greater advantages since you’re not held hostage to the moon entering the Earth’s umbra once a blue moon (sorry bout that!). In its own extra-lunar orbit around Earth the spacecraft at mininum has to have the ability to jockey itself along that orbital plane to regularly intercept the Earth’s umbra at will for the max visual effect, but then it’d the added possibility of creating its own genuine solar eclipses which would be an awesome plus for solar science. So what she’d need is a ion-drive spacecraft with a nice big camera to do the job and a Bill Gates to sponsor it!
Happy Holidays!
December 31st, 2010 at 3:10 pm
[...] the effect). And if you want to learn a little more about the eclipse, I highly recommend the Bad Astronomy post on this [...]
January 5th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
[...] to some fabulous photos of the eclipse from the National Geographic website. Here is a link to the Bad Astronomer’s blog from 12/19/10 which has a good explanation of what actually happens during an eclipse. He links to Sky and [...]
March 12th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
[...] the heater, and relaxed, actually looking at the eclipse. It was very cool, and even lived up to the hype, I’m glad I [...]