No eclipse? (APOD 26 August 2007)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
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robjohn
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No eclipse? (APOD 26 August 2007)

Post by robjohn » Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:24 am

The last line of the text says: "The next total lunar eclipse won't be visible from Earth until February 2008". However, if I am not mistaken, there is a total lunar eclipse in a couple of days, on the morning of 2007 Aug 28.

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Case
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Re: APOD 2007 Aug 26 - no eclipse?

Post by Case » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:20 pm

robjohn wrote:However, if I am not mistaken, there is a total lunar eclipse in a couple of days, on the morning of 2007 Aug 28.
That would explain why the text starts with "This coming Tuesday, our Moon will appear to disappear."

I'm pretty sure the writer meant to say "The next total lunar eclipse AFTER TUESDAY ..."

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Post by robjohn » Sun Aug 26, 2007 4:25 pm

case wrote:That would explain why the text starts with "This coming Tuesday, our Moon will appear to disappear."
Thanks, I missed that. I shouldn't post when I am tired.

twc
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Question about the diagram linked from the APOD page

Post by twc » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:14 am

I wondered if the chart linked from the APOD page might be for a solar eclipse. Since the size of the shadow cast by earth's umbra is greater than the size of the moon then it would cover the entire surface area of the moon. How would it be possible for it to obscure varying degrees of lunar visibility when viewed from different points on the surface of the earth as illustrated in the diagram?

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Chris Peterson
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Re: Question about the diagram linked from the APOD page

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:51 am

twc wrote:I wondered if the chart linked from the APOD page might be for a solar eclipse. Since the size of the shadow cast by earth's umbra is greater than the size of the moon then it would cover the entire surface area of the moon. How would it be possible for it to obscure varying degrees of lunar visibility when viewed from different points on the surface of the earth as illustrated in the diagram?
That's not what the chart shows. It shows what parts of the world will see some, or all, of the event. Some places miss the entire thing because the Moon is below the horizon. Other places only see part, because the Moon rises already eclipsed, or sets before the eclipse finishes.

Those who can see it will be seeing essentially the same thing as everybody else at any given time (except that the Moon is close enough that it actually looks slightly different to people from different locations).
Chris

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twc
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Post by twc » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:06 pm

Now I understand. Thank you for the explanation.

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Post by jimmysnyder » Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:08 pm

I've prepared my smoked glass filter for tonight, but here on the east coast I won't see much.
Making mistakes since 1950.

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Pete
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Post by Pete » Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:41 pm

The view was nice from Vancouver; we also got to see an Iridium flare and the Pleiades through binocs :) Did you end up seeing the eclipse from the East? And wouldn't a smoked glass filter be used only for this kind of eclipse?

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