Physics Photo of the Week
August
31, 2007
Lunar Eclipse - August 28, 2007 - Photos by Chelsea Maier
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5:20 am EDT
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5:28 am EDT
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5:45 am EDT
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In the predawn hours of August 28, 2007, the Moon entered Earth's
shadow and became totally eclipsed. These photos show the
progress as the Moon became more and more immersed into Earth's shadow.
The weather, unfortunately, precluded obtaining the total
eclipse. The morning fog became thicker and the moon dipped
closer to the horizon. The progressive darkness of the remaining
illuminated part of the Moon is due to increased fog, not a less bright
Moon.
The last Lunar eclipse was March 3, 2007. This was highly
successful as shown on the PPOW
for March 9, 2007.
The picture below illustrates the physical alignment between the Sun,
Earth, and Moon during a total lunar eclipse. The Moon is
positioned in Earth's shadow. This drawing is not to scale.
Eclipses are relatively rare. This is due to the fact that the
Moon's orbital plane is tilted about 5 degrees from the Earth's orbital
plane. As a consequence, most full moons miss the Earth's shadow
- passing either above the Earth's shadow or below it. The next
eclipse visible from Warren Wilson College will occur on February 7,
2008.
Physics
Photo of the
Week is
published weekly during the academic year on Fridays by the Warren
Wilson College Physics
Department. These photos feature an interesting phenomena in
the world around us. Students, faculty, and others are invited to
submit digital (or film) photographs for publication and
explanation. Atmospheric phenomena are especially welcome.
Please send any photos to dcollins@warren-wilson.edu.
Click
here to see the Physics Photo
of
the Week Archive.
Observers are invited to submit
digital photos to:
