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A Total Lunar Eclipse Over Tajikistan

Explanation: If the full Moon suddenly faded, what would you see? The answer during the total lunar eclipse last month was recorded in a dramatic time lapse video from Tajikistan. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun, causing the moon to fade dramatically. The Moon never gets completely dark, though, since the Earth's atmosphere refracts some light. As the above video begins, the scene may appear to be daytime and sunlit, but actually it is a nighttime and lit by the glow of the full Moon. As the moon becomes eclipsed and fades, the wind dies down and background stars can be seen reflected in foreground lake. Most spectacularly, the sky surrounding the eclipsed moon suddenly appears to be full of stars and highlighted by the busy plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. The sequence repeats with a closer view, and the final image shows the placement of the eclipsed Moon near the Eagle, Swan, Trifid, and Lagoon nebulas. Nearly two hours after the eclipse started, the moon emerges from the Earth's shadow and its bright full glare again dominates the sky.

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I love eclipse time-lapse videos, and this one is alright in my book!

Two thumbs WAY up!

Very nicely done.

This little kitten is protected from the glare! edited to correct spelling

"the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun" OOPS! I think someone meant to say "the Moon moves into Earth's shadow"

carlsjr wrote:"the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun" OOPS! I think someone meant to say "the Moon moves into Earth's shadow"

Basically the same thing!

Technical question about APOD and Vimeo: around 3 a.m. EDT I went to APOD, clicked on the Vimeo start arrow, and waited. The music came on but the screen remained black. Went back around 11:15 a.m. EDT and this time music and image were both fine. Was there a glitch that was repaired between those times?

The vimeo worked fine for me just past midnight EDT.

I witnessed the total solar eclipse at Goldendale, Wa but could not remember the date, so I googled it. I found a few Mitsubishi Eclipses for sale at a car dealer at Goldendale, Washington. I need an ice cold one !

It's a very interesting vimeo, and it reminds us of how bright the full Moon is, and how dark it gets when the Moon is down, or when it is eclipsed.

I very much enjoyed seeing the crisp clear stars of Scorpius appear as the Moon was eclipsed. Great star colors! Of course the sudden appearance of the Milky Way was very dramatic, too.

Ann

For the VIMEO impaired

The total lunar eclipse is a little frequent phenomenon.
The Earth casts a shadow on the Moon.

Beautiful work.

I especially like how it illustrates the vast brightness difference between the sunlit moon and the eclipsed moon.

-Noel

Exquisite video. I wonder if a similar thing could be done for a total solar eclipse? Would the sky still be too bright from scattered light to show any stars? I guess I can just imagine that the moon is our own sun crossing the milky way. The appearance would probably be similar.