February 12, 2007: Picture this: The year is 2025 and you're on the moon. "Home" is 100 meters away—an outpost on the rim of Shackleton Crater. NASA started building it five years earlier, and it is growing fast. You're one of the construction workers.

As always in these polar regions, the sun hangs low, barely above the craggy lunar horizon. You adjust your visor. It amazes you how bright a low sun can be when there's no atmosphere to dim it.

Suddenly, the lights go out.

Up in the sky, a big black disk covers the sun. A red "ring of fire" appears where the sun was only moments before, and its glow turns the ground red beneath your feet.

You've been waiting for this. It's an eclipse.


Above: On the moon, the ground turns red during a lunar
eclipse. This photo was taken by Doug Murray of Palm
Beach Gardens, Florida, during the total lunar eclipse of
Oct. 27, 2004.
[More]

Astronauts on the moon are going to experience eclipses typically once or twice a year: Earth glides in front of the sun turning lunar day into a strange kind of ruddy night. It'll be one of the highlights of any lunar tour.

The charm of the eclipse comes from Earth. Our planet is big enough by a factor of three to block the entire sun but, curiously, this doesn't cause complete darkness. Rays of sunlight bend around the edge of Earth, filtering through the atmosphere. As seen from the moon, the edge of Earth lights up like a sunset-red ring of fire—one of the most beautiful sights in the solar system. (A simplified, 1.2 MB animation of the process may be seen here. Credit: Graphic artist Larry Koehn.)

Can't wait until 2025? The next eclipse is right around the corner: Saturday, March 3, 2007. Stuck on Earth, we can't see the ring of fire, but we can see the red glow it produces on the moon. The phenomenon will be visible from parts of all seven continents including the eastern half of North America.


Above: A visibility map of the March 3, 2007, total lunar eclipse.
Credit: Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC.
[More]

In the USA, the eclipse will already be underway when the moon rises on Saturday evening. Observing tip: Find a place with a clear view of the eastern horizon and station yourself there at sunset. As the sun goes down behind you, a red moon will rise before your eyes.

Rising moons are often reddened by clouds or pollution, but this moon will be the deep, extraordinary red only seen during a lunar eclipse. As you watch it ascend into the night, imagine what it would be like to stand by Shackleton Crater watching from the opposite direction.

It's not so far-fetched. NASA plans to return astronauts to the moon no later than 2020. From their polar base camp, humans will explore the countryside hunting for resources they can use to "live off the land." They'll study the moon's geology, learning more about the unique potential of the moon to reveal ancient secrets of Earth and the solar system. They'll also evaluate evaluate technologies needed for future missions to Mars.

And occasionally when the ground turns red, they'll pause and look up at a glowing ring in the sky.

March 3rd is a good night to imagine that.

Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

____________________________________________

More to the story...

NASA's eclipse home page -- more information about the March 3, 2007, total lunar eclipse.

Nomenclature: Solar vs. lunar eclipses. What's the correct name for the astronomical event described in this story? Here on Earth we call it a "lunar eclipse," because the moon is darkened as it passes through Earth's red shadow. But on the moon, it is the sun that is darkened by the intervening body of the Earth. Future astronauts will probably call this a "solar eclipse." It all depends on your point of view.

Eclipse Frequency: How often will astronauts on the moon see Earth eclipse the sun?
According to expert Fred Espenak of NASA/GSFC, "during the five millennium period from 2000BC through 3000 AD, there are 7,718 eclipses of the Moon (including both partial and total). There are anywhere from 0 to 3 lunar eclipses (including partial and total) each year. The last time that three total lunar eclipses occurred in one calendar year was in 1982. Partial eclipses slightly outnumber total eclipses by 7 to 6." [More]

In short, one or two total eclipses per year is typical; three is possible on rare occasions.

Why the Moon? -- answers from NASA

The Vision for Space Exploration

Source: Science@NASA

The Jodrell Bank Observatory press release is reproduced below:

If the sky is clear on the night of March the 3rd we will be able to witness the first total eclipse of the Moon visible from the United Kingdom for three years and the best since January 2001. With the Moon's colour during totality ranging from dark coppery-brown to bright orange it can be a most beautiful sight. Though not as spectacular as a total Solar eclipse, it will be visible from the whole dark side of the Earth and is totally safe to observe. No protective filters are needed and the Moon will appear considerably less bright than the normal Full Moon.

Click to enlarge

During the period of totality, from 22:24 to 23:58, the Moon is only illuminated by light that has filtered through the Earth's atmosphere and its appearance depends on the amount of dust in the atmosphere: following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1992, which released large amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, the eclipsed Moon was nearly invisible. As the Earth has not had a major eruption for some years we can expect an impressive sight!

Ian Morison of the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory explains: "If the Earth had no atmosphere the Moon would become invisible when it fully enters the Earth's shadow. However, light refracted and scattered through the atmosphere can still illuminate the Moon though with far reduced brightness. As blue light is scattered by the atmosphere more than red light (which is why our skies are blue) the light that remains is predominately red and orange - the colour of the Sun when close to the horizon. If there were astronauts on the surface of the Moon looking towards the Earth during a total lunar eclipse they would see a black disc surrounded by a bright red ring. It is the light from this ring that we see reflected by the Moon's surface."

The Moon will start to be partially eclipsed at 20:16 as it enters the Earth's penumbra, but the effects will be difficult to see. Only when part of the Moon's disc enter the full shadow region, the umbra, does the reduction in brightness and the colouration become obvious. The Moon will star to enter the umbra at 21:30 and be fully immersed in the Earth's shadow by 22:44. Mid-eclipse is at 23:21 and the Moon will begin to emerge from the umbral region at 23:58. The eclipse will be finally over at 02:25.

The eclipse can be observed anywhere, even in the centre of a large town, but dark skies will enable it to be seen at its best. The Moon will be seen in the south at an elevation of ~ 44 degrees. Binoculars would be a useful aid, but are not needed.

A total eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Earth lies precisely between the Moon and the Sun, and can thus only happen at full Moon. As there is a full Moon every 29 and a half days one might wonder why there is not an eclipse each month. This does not happen because the Moon's orbit is inclined at 5 degrees to the Earth's orbit around the Sun and the Earths shadow usually passes above or below the Moon.

Source: Jodrell Bank press release 2007/02

Don't forget your sunnies......
BTW Will it be visible from Sydney ?

It's an eclipse of the moon, not the sun. It will occur at night and you won't need sunnies.


Unfortunately not.

Fair enough then......I see looking at the stars has affected your sense of humour......

Not really, it can be very difficult to know the level of knowledge of someone on a board such as this or when someone is joking.

Had you included the smilie in your first message rather than your second I would have known you were joking.

Good point......

That’s right! The Moon is the central figure in two different kinds of eclipses within one week. Here’s how. A total lunar eclipse, partly visible from every continent around the world, will occur on March 3 when the Moon will pass into and out of the shadow of Earth. The Moon will appear to glow with a distinct reddish cast. The entire event will be visible from Europe, Africa and western Asia. In eastern Asia, Moonset occurs during various stages of the eclipse. For example, the Moon sets while in total eclipse from central China and southeast Asia. Western Australia catches part of the initial partial phases but the Moon sets before totality. Observers in eastern North and South America will find the Moon already partially or totality eclipsed at Moonrise. From western North America, only the final phases are visible.

Image above: Total Lunar Eclipse: 2004.
Credit: Fred Espenak.

Here in the United States, you have to be in the eastern half of the country to see the total eclipse. At the end of the day on Saturday, go outside and face east. As the sun sets in the western skies, a red Moon will rise before your eyes--fantastic! Maximum eclipse is at 6:21 p.m. EST. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on August 28 this summer. Lunar Eclipse

Video above: STEREO spacecraft captures a lunar transit of the sun. Click on image to view video.
Credit: NASA.

+ STEREO high resolution images

On Feb. 25, 2007 there was another kind of eclipse of the Moon when it crossed the face of the Sun - but it could not be seen from Earth. This sight was visible only from the STEREO-B spacecraft in its orbit about the sun, trailing behind the Earth. NASA's STEREO mission consists of two spacecraft launched in October, 2006 to study solar storms. The transit started at 1:56 am EST and continued for 12 hours until 1:57 pm EST. STEREO-B is currently about one million miles from the Earth, 4.4 times farther away from the Moon than we are on Earth. As a result, the Moon will appear 4.4 times smaller than what we are used to. This is still, however, much larger than, say, the planet Venus appeared when in transited the Sun as seen from Earth in 2004. This alignment of STEREO-B and the Moon was not just due to luck. It was arranged with a small tweak to STEREO-B's orbit last December. The transit is quite useful to STEREO scientists for measuring the focus and the amount of scattered light in the STEREO imagers and for determining the pointing of the STEREO coronagraphs. The Sun as it appears in these the images and each frame of the movie is a composite of nearly simultaneous images in four different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light that were separated into color channels and then recombined with some level of transparency for each.

+ Click here for additional eclipse details


Steele Hill
STEREO and SOHO Project

Source: NASA - STEREO - News

can't wait, hope it's a clear night.

I am about 99% sure we here in Portland, Oregon are going to miss this... It's been overcast and UGLY for the past 2 days -- and I checked weather.com, and the 10 day forecast shows clouds and rain every day! *sigh*

However, On February 28 2007.. WE got to see the moon!

At the time, I had my DV Camcorder set up with WebcamXP software.. broadcasting live webcam . (it's a great way for me to really practice working with my DV Camcorder)

Anyway, while we were all text chatting and watching my webcam.. the CLOUDS finally parted and showed us the moon!

I captured a few snapshots of it and compiled them into swf to view online here if you wish to see...

http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s...02282007wk7.swf

I will see I will see
Oh God I saw the moon now and its huge here,we have a clearly and perfect sky to watch it.

It's 23:00 GMT. The moon is now totally eclipse. The sky here is beautifully clear. The colour of the moon is darker than the copper colour often seen, but I would not go as far as to say that it is blood red. This is the best Lunar Eclipse I have seen for well over a decade.

I heard about this. Hey, Wrasp. Do you know if I'll be able to see it? I'm on the Eastern Side of the States. I wanna see another eclipse!

Yes. In east and central North America the moon will rise/has risen already eclipsed. It is not visible from Western USA and Canada.

Ok. Thank you for answering my question. :3

The sky's extremely clear tonight here in London, so I got a good chance to see it. It was definetely one of the best I've seen.

I see no redness in the moon. What a disappointment. *Sighs* Oh well. And I kinda just saw the moon itself. No eclipse.

Could not see jack from here the moon was tiny, gutted.

The full moon is always around the same size. When it is near the horizon an optical illusion makes it seem larger.

If you did not allow your eyes to get fully dark adapted then it may have been difficult to see the redness.

If you were looking at the moon before or after totality then the moon may have looked like a crescent or half moon rather than a full moon. the missing "segment was the part that was in the Earth's shadow.

I realized later today that WEST of the MISSISSIPPI River here in the US, would not see this event (I am in Oregon)
And I figured it was going to be cloudy all night anyway as it was for the past two days..but I was totally wrong!

We did not get to see the lunar eclipse, but we did get to see the FULL Moon tonight

With my DV camcorder I took several pics of the lovely FULL moon ...
here is one example of the 30 shots I took tonight...(working on practicing more with my cam..)



Hopefully next ones will be better.. I know I should have focused better on this image.. but I am working on it!

I was pretty cloudy here in the N E USA, but I decided to go out with just my binoculars and give it a try. It was actually kind of cool, the clouds were broken so they passed over the moon as the eclipse took place. It gave the whole event a very eerie look. I still wish it had been clear but, c'est la vie! I'm just happy that I got to see it.

Yes, unfortunately, the Mid-Atlantic had thin clouds most of the night.
It was enough to see the eclipse, but it was unfortunately covered by a hazy thin cloud layer that masked any real detail. It was, however clear that an eclipse was taking place.

Nice image Cinders.

I tried taking some images of moon from just after totality until the umbral part of the eclipse was finished. Unfortunately there was some thin hazy cloud towards the end. I have had limited success in lunar photography recently so I am not 100% confident that they will be any good. If they are OK I will post them here.

Thank you for the kind compliment Waspie Dwarf. (I really need to practice more with this thing lol)

Oh I would still love to see what you have.. please pm or email me if you don't wish to post in here. I would love to see these. A sweet friend from the UK and ON this forum, emailed me a few FABULOUS pics he took.. he is in the UK.. I'll try to see if he will post them here or give me permission to.

Because I am on the WEST USA coast, I totally missed this spectacular event. But in the same, I am greatful our overcast clouds here cleared away last night that I was able to see the Full Moon my way..

It might be a while. I am using that old fashioned technology... film, so it might be a while before I finish the roll off and get them developed. I used the same set up as when I took this photo in June 2005, so fingers crossed.

Im in ireland.Had a great view of it.Spent hours just staring at it.My eyes .

I have a dear friend in Holland that is like that too.. and he is an excellent photographer.. it is well worth the wait Waspie Dwarf.. I would love to see. *keeping fingers crossed*

Hello,

I took photos through my telescope of the Eclipse which turned out ok, but i had problems with my camera and light levels, to be honest i was a bit disapointed with the photos i got, i must have took about 140 pictures and only a hand full were just about good enough to view,


Steve

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6921/lunareclipsetd3.gif

Pretty picture, Waspie. <3

Awsome animation, Stevewinn.

This is sooo awesome Steve! Incredible!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us here.

Hi, Moon princess, Cinders

I'm glad you liked the images,

Bye

Steve,

This image of the Moon was taken in the early stages of the total lunar eclipse on 3
March 2007. North on the Moon is to the upper left corner in this view, which shows
the Moon's western limb already well within the Earth's shadow.

Credits: ESA

7 March 2007
A total lunar eclipse was visible from Europe and partly from every other continent around the world in the night between Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 March 2007.

At a cloudless sky, observers could then see the moon passing through the Earth's shadow, with the greatest eclipse occurring at around 00:21 CET on 4 March. In the meanwhile, ESA was watching.

The first partial eclipse phase, which could be observed as a slight reduction or discolouring of the moonlight started at 22:30 CET when the moon entered the Earth's penumbra. From 23:44 CET on 3 March until 00:57 CET on 4 March - the totality lasted for 73 minutes – finally the full moon completely disappeared within the Earth's umbral shadow. But although it was a total lunar eclipse the moon still was visible as a pale auburn disc due to the fact that some sunlight always caroms on the moon because of the refraction within the Earth's atmosphere. Following the total eclipse, it took the moon another 74 minutes until it had finally left the Earth's shadow at 02:11 CET.


This image was taken during the partial eclipse phase of the 3 March 2007 total lunar
eclipse, about 10 minutes after the end of totality.

Credits: ESA

"The Moon is daughter of the Earth, and moves a few times per year in its mother's shade … for the short time of an eclipse," says Bernard Foing SMART-1 Project scientist. "An eclipse is an opportunity for scientists to share with the public and children a beautiful cosmic show, and our connection to the Moon."

Four and a half thousand million years ago, a planet embryo impacted the Earth and projected debris in space that then re-condensed to form the Moon.

For the public a lunar eclipse always gives also an opportunity to observe the Moon and learn more about the lunar geography, as various craters will be hidden and emerge from shadow at well defined times. Scientists use this opportunity to measure how fast the surface cool after the sudden eclipse and can map the thermal properties of the soil.


This photo-montage shows a series of images taken with the AMIE camera on board
SMART-1 during the second lunar total eclipse the spacecraft witnessed from space.

This eclipse took place on 28 October 2004. At that time, SMART-1 was about 290 000
km away from Earth and at its farthest planned distance from the Moon of about 660 000
km. From its vantage point, SMART-1 could see and photograph, for the first time ever,
both the Earth and Moon during a lunar eclipse.

The images of the Moon are shown here in a temporal sequence, from left to right. They
were taken with the AMIE camera, in visible light, between 1.14 UTC and 4.44 UTC. The
‘totality’ phase, in the middle of the sequence when the Moon is completely inside the
Earth’s shadow, lasted about an hour from 2.23 UTC and 3.24 UTC.

The images of the Earth shown here were taken just before and after the eclipse. The
apparent relative size of the Earth and Moon, as shown in this picture, is exactly as seen
by SMART-1.

The relative distance between the two bodies, however, is not to scale. In fact, the Earth
and Moon were farther apart than the field of view of AMIE and could not simultaneously
fit within a single image. For this reason, a sequence of images was taken instead.

In reality, the physical size of the Earth is about 3.7 times larger than that of the Moon;
their diameters are about 12 800 km and 3500 km, respectively. As SMART-1 was
farther away from the Moon than from Earth, the difference appears exaggerated.

Credits: ESA/Space-XA

On 27 October 2004 for example, when the previous total lunar eclipse occurred, ESA's space probe SMART-1 was able to take valuable images from the moon surface during the obscuration. "SMART-1 is still the only spacecraft to have taken an Earth-Moon family portrait from space during a lunar eclipse," says Bernard Foing. "During the next eclipse date in February 2008, the satellites Selene from Japan and Chang'E 1 from China (due for launch in the second part of 2007), will be around the Moon and observe the occurrence of this special event from space."

In 2007, the next total lunar eclipse on 28 August and the partial solar eclipses on March 19 and September 11 will not be visible from Europe. People from Europe who missed the beautiful show have to wait almost for a year, namely until 21 February 2008, until they can watch an assailable celestial spectacle.

Source: ESA - Space Science

August 3, 2007: Close your eyes, breath deeply, let your mind wander to a distant seashore: It's late in the day, and the western sun is sinking into the glittering waves. At your feet, damp sand reflects the twilight, while overhead, the deep blue sky fades into a cloudy mélange of sunset copper and gold, so vivid it almost takes your breath away.

A breeze touches the back of your neck, and you turn to see a pale full Moon rising into the night. Hmmm. The Moon could use a dash more color. You reach out, grab a handful of sunset, and drape the Moon with phantasmic light. Much better.

Too bad it's only a dream...

Early Tuesday morning, August 28th, the dream will come true. There's going to be a colorful lunar eclipse visible from five continents including most of North America: map.


Above: Photos of the March 3, 2007, lunar eclipse.
Credit: Antonio Finazzi and Michele Festa of Lago di Garda, Italy. [Larger image]

The event begins 54 minutes past midnight PDT (0754 UT) on August 28th when the Moon enters Earth's shadow. At first, there's little change. The outskirts of Earth's shadow are as pale as the Moon itself; an onlooker might not even realize anything is happening. But as the Moon penetrates deeper, a startling metamorphosis occurs. Around 2:52 am PDT (0952 UT), the color of the Moon changes from moondust-gray to sunset-red. This is totality, and it lasts for 90 minutes.

To understand why the change occurs, close your eyes and dream yourself all the way to the Moon. Once again, you're standing on a seashore—the Sea of Tranquillity. There's no water. You're surrounded by hundreds of miles of dusty, hardened lava. Overhead hangs Earth, nightside down, completely hiding the Sun behind it. The eclipse is underway.

With the Sun blocked, you might expect utter darkness, but no, the ground at your feet is aglow. Why? Look back up at Earth. The rim of the planet seems to be on fire. Around Earth's circumference you see every sunrise and sunset in the world—all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, transforming the Moon into a landscape of copper moondust and golden hills.

Wake up! This is really going to happen, and some planning is necessary. Start times of totality are listed in the table below. Set your alarm an hour or so in advance to gather snacks and dress warmly. (Even in August, four o'clock in the morning can be chilly.) Waking up early also allows you to catch some of the partial eclipse before totality.

The eclipse will be visible from Australia, Japan, parts of Asia and most of the Americas, but not from Africa or Europe. Pacific observers are favored. On the west coast of the United States, the entire eclipse will unfold high in the post-midnight sky. On the east coast, totality will be truncated by sunrise. That's okay; even a little eclipse can be a dream.

Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

____________________________________________

More Information

NASA's eclipse home page -- more information about the Aug. 28, 2007, total lunar eclipse.

NASA's Future: The Vision for Space Exploration

Source: Science@NASA

As August draws to an end, watchers of the night sky will be in for a treat. In the early morning hours of August 28, sky watchers across much of the world can look on as the Moon crosses in to the shadow of the Earth, becoming completely immersed for one-hour and 30 minutes, a period of time much longer than most typical lunar eclipses. In fact, this eclipse will be the deepest and longest in 7 years.



The event begins 54 minutes past midnight PDT (3:54 a.m. EDT) on August 28. At first, there is little change. The outskirts of Earth's shadow are as pale as the Moon itself; an onlooker might not even realize anything is happening. But as the Moon penetrates deeper in to the Earth’s shadow, a startling metamorphosis occurs. Around 2:52 a.m. PDT (5:52 a.m. EDT) the color of the Moon changes from moondust-gray to sunset-red. This is totality, and it lasts for almost 90 minutes.

With the Sun blocked, you might expect utter darkness, but instead the ground at your feet appears to be aglow. Why? Look back up at Earth. The rim of the planet seems to be on fire. Around the Earth's circumference you will witness every sunrise and sunset in the world—all at once. This incredible, colorful light beams into the heart of Earth’s shadow, transforming the Moon into a landscape of copper moondust and golden hills. The eclipse will be visible from Australia, parts of Asia and most of the Americas, but not from Africa or Europe. The view is different from each location on the planet. Here in the United States, Pacific observers are favored. For them the entire eclipse will unfold high in the post-midnight sky. However, on the East Coast, totality will be cut off early by sunrise.



Here is some of what you can expect to see from various locations across the country:

• Viewers on the West Coast will get the best show. For them the entire eclipse will be visible from start to finish before moonset in the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 28, 2007.
• Hawaiians will be able to see the full eclipse, or totality, around midnight.
• For viewers on the East Coast and in the Great Lakes States, the eclipse will start around dawn and will still be occurring when the Sun rises and the Moon sets that morning.
• Finally, across the Mid-West, Plains, and Rocky Mountain States the totality has already ended before the Moon sets and viewers there will only see a partial eclipse as the Moon emerges from the shadow of the Earth.

While sky watchers focus their attention on the eclipse, NASA scientists and engineers are looking at the Moon for a different reason. NASA is getting ready to take its first steps back to the Moon, nearly 40 years after the first human Moon landing.



Next year NASA will launch the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to compile the first all digital, next generation maps of the Moon, which will measure topography, temperature, resources, and hazards. Although it is the Earth’s closest neighbor, scientists still know relatively little about the Moon, aside from the six Apollo human landing sites. LRO will dramatically change all that by acting like a "chart-making" Renaissance-era explorer. It will reveal the mysteries of the lunar polar regions while also evaluating from above the changes that have taken place since humans left the lunar surface in December 1972, when Apollo 17 blasted off to return to Earth.

LRO is the first mission in an endeavor to extend a human presence into the solar system, starting with a return to the Moon. Returning to the Moon will enable the pursuit of scientific activities that address our fundamental questions about the history of Earth, the solar system and the universe - and about our place in them, including aspects of the search for life beyond our home planet.


Image above: Image of the LRO spacecraft in orbit
around the Moon
Image credit: NASA.

LRO is a robotic mission designed to create a boldly new type of comprehensive, digital map of the Moon's features and resources, necessary to cost-effectively engineer a human outpost on the Moon. LRO follows in the footsteps of the robotic predecessors to the Apollo human missions - missions designed in part to search for the safest possible human landing sites (such as the Ranger, Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor missions). However, the goals of LRO go far beyond the requirements of these previous missions.

LRO focuses on the selection of safe landing sites, identification of lunar resources, and the study of how the Moon’s environment will affect humans. In particular, LRO will explore the nearly unknown lunar polar regions, which may prove ideal settings for a sustainable human outpost thanks to nearly constant sunlight and potential resources. LRO’s topographic mapping of the Moon will usher in a new era of Earth and planetary remote sensing, and potentially catalyze solutions of benefit here on Earth, as scientists measure the signatures of climate change.

LRO is scheduled for launch in fall of 2008 on an Atlas V 401 rocket. The spacecraft’s final orbit will be a circular polar orbit approximately 50 km above the Moon's surface (just over 30 miles), closer than any other lunar mission. Indeed, the LRO "vantage point" will be somewhat like flying in a high-altitude airplane around Earth, mapping as it goes. The August 28 eclipse will be a spectacular site, drawing the attention and curiosity of people around the world to the Moon. While there is still much to learn about this planetary body, NASA is taking the first steps to uncover the Moon’s remaining mysteries. The Moon will forever be linked to the history of Earth and, thanks to events such as this year’s enthralling eclipse and the upcoming LRO mission, we can all participate in a new era of lunar exploration.

For more information, please visit the NASA LRO web site:



For more information about NASA eclipse home page, visit:


Laura Spector
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Source: NASA - Exploring the Universe - Watch the Skies

August 27, 2007: Most people appreciate lunar eclipses for their silent midnight beauty. NASA astronomer Bill Cooke is different: he loves the explosions.

On Tuesday morning, Aug. 28th, Earth's shadow will settle across the Moon for a 90-minute total eclipse: full story. In the midst of the lunar darkness, Cooke hopes to record some flashes of light--explosions caused by meteoroids crashing into the Moon and blasting themselves to smithereens.


Above: A lunar meteoroid strike, artist's concept.

"The eclipse is a great time to look," says Cooke, who heads up NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The entire face of the Moon will be in shadow for more than two hours, offering more than 7 million sq. miles of dark terrain as target for incoming meteoroids.

Lunar explosions are nothing new. Cooke's team has been monitoring the Moon since late 2005 and they've recorded 62 impacts so far. "Meteoroids that hit Earth disintegrate in the atmosphere, producing a harmless streak of light. But the Moon has no atmosphere, so 'lunar meteors' plunge into the ground," he says. Typical strikes release as much energy as 100 kg of TNT, gouging craters several meters wide and producing bursts of light bright enough to be seen 240,000 miles away on Earth through ordinary backyard telescopes.

"About half of the impacts we see come from regular meteor showers like the Perseids and Leonids," says MEO team-member Danielle Moser. "The other half are 'sporadic' meteors associated with no particular asteroid or comet.".



The MEO observatory is located on the grounds of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and consists of two 14-inch telescopes equipped with sensitive low-light video cameras. Moser and colleague Victoria Coffey will be on duty Tuesday morning.

During the eclipse, they hope to catch an elusive variety of meteor called Helions.

"Helion meteoroids come from the direction of the sun," Cooke says, "and that makes them very difficult to observe." They streak across the sky most often around local noon when the sun's glare is too intense for meteor watching.

Wait a minute. Meteors from the sun? "The sun itself is not the source," he explains. "We believe Helion meteoroids come from ancient sungrazing comets that laid down trails of dusty debris in the vicinity of the sun."

No one can be certain, however, because Helion meteoroids are so devilishly difficult to study. Astronomers see them only in small numbers briefly before dawn or after sunset. Attempts to study Helions via radar during the day have been foiled, to a degree, by terrestrial radio interference and natural radio bursts from the sun—both of which can drown out meteoroid "pings."


Above: The MEO observatory at the Marshall Space
Flight Center. [Larger image]

Enter the eclipse.

During the eclipse, the Man in the Moon (the face we see from Earth) will be turned squarely toward the sun—"perfect geometry for intercepting Helion meteoroids," says Moser. "And with Earth's shadow providing some darkness, we should be able to see any explosions quite clearly."

"Watching Helion meteoroids hit the Moon and studying the flashes will tell us more about their size, velocity and penetration," she adds. That, in turn, will further the MEO's goal of estimating meteoroid hazards to spacecraft and future Moon-walking astronauts.

No one has ever seen a lunar impact during an eclipse, "but there's a first time for everything," Cooke says. Stay tuned to Science@NASA for results.




ALERT: Bill Cooke encourages amateur astronomers to monitor the Moon during the eclipse and report any flashes they record to the Meteoroid Environment Office. Typical flashes are 6th to 7th magnitude, easy targets for mid-sized backyard telescopes equipped with digital video cameras. Click here for instructions.

NASA Meteoroid Environment Office -- home page

Dreamy Lunar Eclipse -- (Science@NASA) more information about the Aug. 28th lunar Eclipse

A Meteoroid Hits the Moon -- (Science@NASA) The best recording to-date of a lunar explosion in progress.

An Explosion on the Moon -- (Science@NASA) A piece of Comet Encke hits Mare Imbrium causing an explosion visible from Earth

NASA's Future: The Vision for Space Exploration

Source: Science@NASA

Feb. 13, 2008: On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red and possibly turquoise, too. It's a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010.

The Sun goes down. The Moon comes up. You go out and look at the sky. Observing the eclipse is that easy. Maximum eclipse, and maximum beauty, occurs at 10:26 pm EST (7:26 pm PST).



A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through the shadow of Earth. You might expect the Moon to grow even more ashen than usual, but in fact it transforms into an orb of vivid red.

Why red? That is the color of Earth's shadow.


Consider the following: Most shadows we're familiar with are black or gray; step outside on a sunny day and look at your own. Earth's shadow is different because, unlike you, Earth has an atmosphere. The delicate layer of dusty air surrounding our planet reddens and redirects the light of the sun, filling the dark behind Earth with a sunset-red glow. The exact tint--anything from bright orange to blood red is possible--depends on the unpredictable state of the atmosphere at the time of the eclipse. "Only the shadow knows," says astronomer Jack Horkheimer of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

Transiting the shadow's core takes about an hour. The first hints of red appear around 10 pm EST (7 pm PST), heralding a profusion of coppery hues that roll across the Moon's surface enveloping every crater, mountain and moon rock, only to fade away again after 11 pm EST (8 pm PST). No special filter or telescope is required to see this spectacular event. It is a bright and leisurely display visible from cities and countryside alike.

While you're watching, be alert for another color: turquoise. Observers of several recent lunar eclipses have reported a flash of turquoise bracketing the red of totality.

"The blue and turquoise shades at the edge of Earth's shadow were incredible," recalls amateur astronomer Eva Seidenfaden of Trier, Germany, who took the picture at right during the European lunar eclipse of March 3-4, 2007. Dozens of other photographers have documented the same phenomenon.


Above: A "turquoise eclipse" photographed by
Eva Seidenfaden of Trier, Germany, on March 4,
2007. [Larger image] [more]

The source of the turquoise is ozone. Eclipse researcher Dr. Richard Keen of the University of Colorado explains: "During a lunar eclipse, most of the light illuminating the moon passes through the stratosphere where it is reddened by scattering. However, light passing through the upper stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer, which absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer." This can be seen, he says, as a soft blue fringe around the red core of Earth's shadow.

To catch the turquoise on Feb. 20th, he advises, "look during the first and last minutes of totality." That would be around 10:01 pm EST and 10:51 pm EST (7:01 and 7:51 pm PST).

Blood red, bright orange, gentle turquoise: it's all good. Mark your calendar in vivid color for the Feb. 20th lunar eclipse.

Editor's note: This story is written for an American audience, but not only Americans can see the eclipse. People in Europe and western Africa are also favored. International maps and timetables may be found here.




Shadow and Substance -- eclipse animations created by graphic artist Larry Koehn

Don't Miss The Last Total Lunar Eclipse For Three Years! -- Jack Horkheimer, Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium

Eclipse visibility map -- sky watchers in the Americas, Europe, and parts of western Africa can observe the eclipse.

Total Eclipse of the Moon: Feb. 20, 2008 -- complete details from NASA's eclipse expert Fred Espenak

NASA's Future: The Vision for Space Exploration

Source: Science@NASA

21 February 2008
The lunar eclipse this morning, visible in its totality across most of western Europe, was quite a spectacle. Some of ESA's astronomy enthusiasts took this last chance until 2010, to take pictures of the eclipse early this morning.

This 3D image of the lunar eclipse was produced from observations coordinated across the globe, in Argentina and Spain. Stereoscopic glasses are required to view it.

The images were captured at Arenales y Agüero, Capital Federal, Argentina and Majadahonda, Spain. The first of the two images was taken with a Meade LX 90 telescope and an Olympus Evolt E-500 camera and the second with a 9 cm/F10 Matsukov-Cassegrain Telescope and a Canon400D camera. The latter was shot at 2:56 am CET.

Credits: Manuel Castillo, Adriana Fernández, Leonardo Julio, Alejandro Tombolini









Source: ESA - Space Science - News