Sie sind auf Seite 1von 8

Lunar eclipse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Lunar eclipse (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Solar eclipse.

The June 2011 total eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes. The most recent total lunar eclipse occurred on December 10, 2011. The previous total lunar eclipse occurred on June 15, 2011; The recent eclipse was visible from all of Asia and Australia, seen as rising over Europe and setting over Northwest North America. The last to previous total lunar eclipse occurred on December 21, 2010, at 08:17 UTC.[1] Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are no brighter (indeed dimmer) than the full moon itself.
Contents
[hide]

o o

1 Types of lunar eclipse 1.1 Selenelion 1.2 Danjon scale 2 Eclipse cycles 3 Recent and forthcoming lunar eclipse events 4 Gallery 5 Lunar eclipse in Mythology 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Types of lunar eclipse

Schematic diagram of the shadow cast by the Earth. Within the central umbra shadow, the Moon is totally shielded from direct illumination by the Sun. In contrast, within the penumbra shadow, only a portion of sunlight is blocked.

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. However, as a result of the Suns large angular size, solar illumination is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the Earths shadow, which is given the name penumbra. Apenumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earths penumbra. The penumbra causes a subtle darkening of the Moon's surface. A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral eclipse, during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earths penumbra. Total

penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, that portion of the Moon which is closest to the umbra can appear somewhat darker than the rest of the Moon.

As seen by an observer on Earth on the imaginarycelestial sphere, the Moon crosses the ecliptic every orbit at positions called nodes twice every month. When the full moon occurs in the same position at the node, a lunar eclipse can occur. These two nodes allow two to five eclipses per year, parted by approximately six months. (Note: Not drawn to scale. The Sun is much larger and farther away than the Moon.)

A total penumbral lunar eclipse dims the moon in direct proportion to the area of the suns disk blocked by the earth. This comparison shows the southern shadow penumbral lunar eclipse of January 1999 (left) to the same moon outside of the shadow (right) demonstrates this subtle dimming.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra. When the Moon travels completely into the Earths umbra, one observes atotal lunar eclipse. The Moons speed through the shadow is about one kilometer per second (2,300 mph), and totality may last up to nearly 107 minutes. Nevertheless, the total time between the Moons first and last contact with the shadow is much longer, and could last up to 4 hours.[2] The relative distance of the Moon from the Earth at the time of an eclipse can affect the eclipses duration. In particular, when the Moon is near its apogee, the farthest point from the Earth in its orbit, its orbital speed is the slowest. The diameter of the umbra does not decrease appreciably within the changes in the orbital distance of the moon. Thus, a totally eclipsed Moon occurring near apogee will lengthen the duration of totality.

The timing of total lunar eclipses are determined by its contacts:[3] P1 (First contact): Beginning of the penumbral eclipse. The Earth's penumbra touches the Moon's outer limb. U1 (Second contact): Beginning of the partial eclipse. The Earth's umbra touches the Moon's outer limb. U2 (Third contact): Beginning of the total eclipse. The Moon's surface is entirely within the Earth's umbra. Greatest eclipse: The peak stage of the total eclipse. The Moon is at its closest to the center of the Earth's umbra. U3 (Fourth contact): End of the total eclipse. The Moon's outer limb exits the Earth's umbra. U4 (Fifth contact): End of the partial eclipse. The Earth's umbra leaves the Moon's surface. P2 (Sixth contact): End of the penumbral eclipse. The Earth's shadow no longer makes any contact with the Moon.

Selenelion
A selenelion or selenehelion occurs when both the Sun and the eclipsed Moon can be observed at the same time. This can only happen just before sunset or just after sunrise, and both bodies will appear just above the horizon at nearly opposite points in the sky. This arrangement has led to the phenomenon being referred to as a horizontal eclipse. It happens during every lunar eclipse at all those places on the Earth where it is sunrise or sunset at the time. Indeed, the reddened light that reaches the Moon comes from all the simultaneous sunrises and sunsets on the Earth. Although the Moon is in the Earths umbra, the Sun and the eclipsed Moon can both be seen at the same time because the umbra is bigger than the moon, and because the refraction of light through the Earths atmosphere causes each of them to appear higher in the sky than their true geometric position.[4] The Moon does not completely disappear as it passes through the umbra because of the refraction of sunlight by the Earths atmosphere into the shadow cone; if the Earth had no atmosphere, the Moon would be completely dark during an eclipse. The red coloring arises because sunlight reaching the Moon must pass through a long and dense layer of the Earths atmosphere, where it is scattered.

Shorter wavelengths are more likely to be scattered by the air molecules and the small particles, and so by the time the light has passed through the atmosphere, the longer wavelengths dominate. This resulting light we perceive asred. This is the same effect that causes sunsets and sunrises to turn the sky a reddish color; an alternative way of considering the problem is to realize that, as viewed from the Moon, the Sun would appear to be setting (or rising) behind the Earth. The amount of refracted light depends on the amount of dust or clouds in the atmosphere; this also controls how much light is scattered. In general, the dustier the atmosphere, the more that other wavelengths of light will be removed (compared to red light), leaving the resulting light a deeper red color. This causes the resulting coppery-red hue of the Moon to vary from one eclipse to the next. Volcanoes are notable for expelling large quantities of dust into the atmosphere, and a large eruption shortly before an eclipse can have a large effect on the resulting color.

Danjon scale
The following scale (the Danjon scale) was devised by Andr Danjon for rating the overall darkness of lunar eclipses:[5] L=0: Very dark eclipse. Moon almost invisible, especially at mid-totality. L=1: Dark eclipse, gray or brownish in coloration. Details distinguishable only with difficulty. L=2: Deep red or rust-colored eclipse. Very dark central shadow, while outer edge of umbra is relatively bright. L=3: Brick-red eclipse. Umbral shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim. L=4: Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse. Umbral shadow is bluish and has a very bright rim.

Eclipse cycles
See also: Saros (astronomy) and Eclipse cycle Every year there are at least two lunar eclipses, although total lunar eclipses are significantly less common. If one knows the date and time of an eclipse, it is possible to predict the

occurrence of other eclipses using an eclipse cycle like the saros.

Recent and forthcoming lunar eclipse events

March 3, 2007, lunar eclipse

The first total lunar eclipse of 2007 occurred on March 3, 2007, and was partially visible from the Americas, Asia and Australia. The complete event was visible throughout Africaand Europe. The event lasted seventy-five minutes, began at 20:16 UTC, and reached totality at 22:43 UTC.[6]

August 2007 lunar eclipse

August 28, 2007, saw the second total lunar eclipse of the year. The initial stage began at 07:52 UTC, and reached totality at 09:52 UTC. This eclipse was viewable form Eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand the Pacific, and the Americas.[7]

February 2008 lunar eclipse

The only total lunar eclipse of 2008 occurred on February 21, 2008, beginning at 01:43 UTC, visible from Europe, the Americas, and Africa.[8]

There was a partial eclipse of the

Moon on December 31, 2009.

There was a partial eclipse of the

Moon on June 26, 2010.

There was a total eclipse of the

Moon on December 21, 2010.

There was a total eclipse of the

Moon on June 15, 2011.

There was a total eclipse of the

Moon on December 10, 2011.

Gallery See also


Moon portal

Lunar eclipses in history May 1453 lunar eclipse - Fall of

Constantinople

March 1504 lunar

eclipse - Columbus lunar eclipse

December 1573 lunar

eclipse - Tycho Brahe

Eclipse Moon illusion Orbit of the Moon

List of lunar eclipsesDecember 21, 2010


Lunar Eclipse

This diagram shows how the moon appears reddish orange during a lunar eclipse.

Painting by Lucien Rudaux, showing what a lunar eclipse might look like when viewed from the surface of the moon. The moon's surface appears red because the only sunlight available is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere on the edges of the earth, as shown in the sky in this painting.

Lunar eclipse in Mythology


Several cultures have myths related to lunar eclipses. The Egyptians saw the eclipse as a sow swallowing the moon for a short time; other cultures view the eclipse as the moon being swallowed by other animals, such as a jaguar in Mayan tradition, or a three legged toad in China. Some societies thought it was a demon swallowing the moon, and that they could chase it away by throwing stones and curses at it.[9]

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen