3/5/07

Pictures of the Lunar Eclipse last Saturday

These are pictures from the web of the lunar eclipse from last Saturday (3/3/07). I didn't get a chance to see it for myself as the moon was rising on Saturday evening. It was actually more visible from Europe and Africa. A Lunar Eclipse usually happens twice a year. During a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth moves in front of the Sun and the Moon is in the shadow of the Earth, where the three are aligned exactly. The Moon passing in the shadow of the Earth does not cause the Moon to completely disappear, but the Moon will glow a reddish-copper color. This is caused by the Sun's light being refracted around the Earth's atmosphere, making the Moon look red.


Interstingly, if you were on the Moon observing this eclipse, it would be an awesome sight to see. It would become completely dark as you would watch the Sun makes it's way behind the Earth. You would see a a big black disc (Earth) covering the Sun and a red "ring of fire" around it. It's glow would make the ground beneath your feet turn red...kinda like this


(The following pictures are from Flickr)





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