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Earth and Moon of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) from 2008
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A Total Solar Eclipse over T
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A Total Solar Eclipse over Turkey |
| Explanation |
Some views [ http://spaceweather.com/eclipses/gallery_29mar06.htm ] of last week's total eclipse [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_eclipse ] of the Sun were better than others. One spectacular view [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060331.html ] occurred over Adrasan (near Antalya [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antalya ]), Turkey [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey ] and was captured there by industrious astrophotographer Stefan Seip. The above digital mosaic [ http://www.photomeeting.de/astromeeting/sun/060329sofi_d1024.htm ] caught the Moon in several stages as it moved between the Earth and the Sun. During the center frame, a total solar eclipse [ http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html ] was visible, the Moon completely blocked the Sun, the area became dark, and the magnificent corona [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010408.html ] of the Sun became visible. The foreground frame from the same location was taken during sunlight. The next total eclipse [ http://mreclipse.com/Special/SEnext.html ] of the Sun will occur in August 2008 and be visible from parts of North America [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/north_america.html ], Europe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030324.html ], and Asia [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia ]. |
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A Total Lunar Eclipse Over N
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A Total Lunar Eclipse Over North Carolina |
| Explanation |
This coming Tuesday, our Moon will appear to disappear. A similar total lunar eclipse is seen above in a time lapse image [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031111.html ] captured in 2003 over North Carolina [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina ], USA [ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html ]. As the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun, the Earth's shadow fell on the moon, making it quite dark [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010118.html ]. In the above picture the Earth's rotation, multiple exposures, and digital enhancements are used to create a time-lapse effect that dramatizes how the Moon looked as it faded out and re-appeared during the three hour lunar eclipse [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041029.html ]. As the Earth's shadow engulfed the Moon [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEcat/LEcatalog.html ], the lunar images became less and less bright, practically disappearing during totality [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960926.html ]. At this time, the Moon, which normally shines by reflecting direct sunlight, shone only by sunlight refracted [ http://www.geom.umn.edu/education/calc-init/rainbow/refraction.html ] through the Earth's atmosphere [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html ]. The next total lunar eclipse won't be visible from Earth until February 2008. |
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Mars in View
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Mars in View |
| Explanation |
Very good telescopic views of Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/allabout/nightsky/ viewing-tips-2007.html ] can be expected in the coming weeks as the Red Planet [ http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/mars/contents.htm ] nears opposition on December 24th. Of course [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060422.html ], opposition means opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky - an arrangement [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/allabout/nightsky/nightsky03.html ] that occurs every 26 months for Mars. Because of Mars' [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.html ] more elliptical orbit, the actual date of closest approach to Earth will be December 18, when Mars will be within about 88 million kilometers of our fair planet. Situated in the constellation Gemini and rising after evening twilight, the bright, ruddy disk of Mars will reach nearly 16 arcseconds [ http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ cosmic_reference/angular.html ] in diameter (about 1/100th the diameter of the Full Moon). In this already exceptional image taken on November 18, north is down and surface markings around the sprawling, dark, albedo feature Syrtis Major [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01592 ] are remarkably clear. The image was recorded with a video camera and filters on a 1 meter telescope at Pic Du Midi [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pic_du_Midi_de_Bigorre ], a mountain top observatory in the French Pyrenees. NASA launched the Phoenix [ http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mission.php ] lander to Mars in August, scheduled to arrive in May 2008. |
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