VilaWeb - Diari escola: 3 March: Lunar Eclipse

VilaWeb.cat

VilaWeb.tv

Nosaltres.cat

MÉSVilaWeb

Correu

Clau

dijous, 21 de novembre de 2024

> What is a Lunar Eclipse?

> Seen With the Naked Eye

> Red Moon

dijous, 1 de març de 2007

On the night of 3 March, a remarkable astronomical phenomenon will take place that is both beautiful and easy to observe: a total eclipse of the Moon. For a period of 73 minutes, the Earth's shadow cone will completely hide, or rather, obscure, our only natural satellite.

Lunar eclipses can be seen from any point of the Earth, providing the Moon is above the horizon. On 3 March, it will be fully visible from Europe, Africa and Western Asia. In North and South America, the Moon will appear after the eclipse has already started, meaning that some phases will not be visible, as in Eastern Asia, where the Moon will set during the eclipse.

The Moon will enter the Earth's penumbra (the penumbral phase) at 9.18pm and 11 seconds, local time, an hour ahead of Universal Time (UT). However, the full lunar eclipse, when the Moon will be completely dark, will not start until 11.44pm and 13 seconds. It will end at 12.20am and 56 seconds.

This will be the first of two full lunar eclipses this year. The second, on 28 August, will only be completely visible from a few areas of the inhabited world, it will not be possible to see it from Europe.

! Actualització el 04/03/2007 a les 09:15

Serviastro: Galeria d'imatges de l'eclipsi lunar.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: Astronomia.

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

+ Total lunar eclipse will be fully visible from Europe, Africa and Western Asia.

A lunar eclipse takes place when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, an event that happens quite naturally because all three are aligned with one another. We should remember that the Sun is the only star in our Solar System that gives off light. There are three types of lunar eclipse (which can only happen when the Moon is full): penumbral, partial or total, which happens when the Moon becomes full in the shadow cone projected by our planet.

Seen With the Naked Eye

+ It is perfectly safe to watch a lunar eclipse with the naked eye.

As opposed to solar eclipses which should never be observed without special glasses (it's very dangerous to look at the Sun directly during an eclipse), it is perfectly safe to watch a lunar eclipse with the naked eye. Naturally, the phenomenon can be seen in greater detail through a telescope or prismatic, which let viewers clearly see how the shadow of the Earth covers the Moon's craters.

Red Moon

+ The Moon doesn't turn completely dark.

Paradoxically, one of the things that makes a lunar eclipse so beautiful to watch is to see how the Moon doesn't turn completely dark. When it has completely entered the Earth's shadow, it usually turns a shade of red, with the intensity and degree varying from one eclipse to another. We could say that the Moon takes on a physiognomy similar to Mars', which is sometimes called the Red Planet due to its ruddy-orange colour.

MATERIALS

Eclipsi total de Lluna del 3 de març de 2007
Format:Web
Pàgina de Serviastro, servei d'informació astronòmica del Departament d'Astronomia i Meteorologia de la Universitat de Barcelona. Retransmissió en directe.
Agrupació Astronòmica de Sabadell
Format:Web
També el retransmetrà via internet.
Nostra Nau
Format:Web
Els cent cinquanta episodis d'aquest programa d'astronomia emès per la Televisió de Catalunya, en vídeo. A l'edu365.cat.
NASA Eclipse
Format:Web
Informació de l'Agència Espacial nord-americana sobre eclipsis solars i lunars, passats i futurs, el del 3 de març inclòs.
Diccionari
Format:Web
D'astronomia.
Observando la Luna: fases y eclipses
Format:Web
Material educatiu del Ministeri d'Educació i Ciència espanyol.
Lunar Eclipses for Beginners
Format:Web
Explicació clara, acompanyada de vincles.

QUE HO SABIES?

Solar eclipses, which can also be partial or total, happen when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth.
While the Earth takes 365 days to orbit the Sun, the Moon only takes 27 days to complete its orbit of the Blue Planet.
The Moon is only 384,000 km from the Earth… an insignificant distance if we think in terms of space.