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2001: A Total Lunar Eclipse
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2001: A Total Lunar Eclipse |
| Explanation |
The first and only total lunar eclipse for the year 2001 [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2001.html ] occured on the evening of January 9/10 as the full Moon glided through Earth's shadow. Unlike [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970827.html ] a total solar eclipse, a total lunar eclipse is visible for anyone on the night side [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html ] of the planet during the event. The night side for this geocentric celestial event [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010104.html ] included Europe, Asia, and Africa where the Moon [ http://www.lunaroutreach.org/ ] could be seen immersed in the umbra or dark portion of Earth's shadow for about 62 minutes as it passed just north [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/extra/TLE010109/ TLE2001Jan09-GMT.GIF ] of the shadow's center. This dramatic telescopic photo of [ http://www.MrEclipse.com/MrEclipse.html ] the eclipsed Moon was made near Ankara, Turkey close to the time of midpoint of the total phase. The fact that the northern (top) portion of the eclipsed Moon is clearly brighter, even near mid-totality, demonstrates that Earth's shadow is not uniformly dark. |
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Mysterious Streaks Over Turk
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Mysterious Streaks Over Turkey |
| Explanation |
What are they? Five streaks near the bottom of the above image taken near Ankara [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankara ], Turkey [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey ] on Sunday would be identified at first glance as meteors from the Perseids meteor shower [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11jul_greatperseids.htm ] peaking just that night. Unexpectedly, however, these streaks do not point back to the Perseids radiant [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070812.html ] in Perseus [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/perseus.html ]. Their origin is therefore somewhat unclear. The above image was captured over the time span of 40 minutes. Other visible celestial icons include the constellation Orion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070203.html ] and the Pleiades star cluster [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060109.html ]. One hypothesis is that the streaks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061023.html ] are part of a microburst from a much less active meteor shower known as the Alpha Ursae Majorids [ http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/alpha_ursa_majorids.html ]. Another possibility is that they are parts of a satellite [ http://www.reentrynews.com/2007023b.html ] that broke up as it re-entered [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000603.html ] the Earth's atmosphere. A discussion of these possibilities can be found here [ http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewtopic.php?p=87509 ]. This year's Perseids meteor shower [ http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2007/ ] was a good one, as it was particularly active and corresponded with the dark skies that come with a new moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050513.html ]. |
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