The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurred Wednesday night. Saturn and Regulus (the brightest star in the constellation Leo) were also clearly visible (but didn't show up in the pic).
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon passes into Earth's shadow and is blocked from the sun. The moon doesn't go black because indirect sunlight still reaches it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere. Since the atmosphere filters out blue light, the indirect light that reaches the moon transforms it into a reddish or orange tinge, depending on how much dust and cloud cover are in the atmosphere at the time.
*
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lunar Eclipse: U.S. East Coast
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I had wanted to watch this, but as usual, I was too tired by the time the eclipse started and was fast asleep.
It was a pretty exciting idea though. Do you watch the seasonal meteor showers? Those can be pretty cool too.
EG--I was motivated to watch and try my new camera. This was the only pic that came out decent. I set up the tripod and everything. If it hadn't been so cold, I might have stuck with it to get a better shot. I know I've watched meteor showers before, but not in years.
Great pic! I did see part of it last night. It was clear here, so we could actually see it. I was feeling too crappy to think about getting a pic though.
I saw a complete solar eclipse in Hungary -- that was really something and quite the party.
The coolest one I saw was when i was marching with the Cavaliers in the summer of 1989. We were rehearsing and paused to look at it.
No other lunar eclipses will compare to that for me.
Post a Comment