APOD: Andes Sunset Eclipse (2010 Jul 15)

[APOD Robot]

Andes Sunset Eclipse

Explanation: On July 11, after a long trek eastward across the southern Pacific Ocean, the Moon's shadow reached landfall in South America. In a total solar eclipse close to sunset, silhouetted Moon and Sun hugged the western horizon, seen here above the Andes mountains near the continent's southern tip. To enjoy a good vantage point, the photographer hiked to a windy spot about 400 meters above a lake, Lago Argentino, climbing into the picture after setting up his camera on a tripod. At left, the sky outside the shadow cone is still bright. Below, the lights of El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina, shine by the lake shore.

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[orin stepanek]

Nice photo! I liked it. I liked the Easter Island photo better with the silhouetted statutes. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100714.html In this photo the guy looks like a giant standing over the city. Both photos are neat.
Orin

[jman]

Does the "moon illusion" still apply to a solar eclipse?

[dcstark@hotmail.com]

Wow! What a nicely set-up photograph! Well done!

[biddie67]

Nice effect with Mr. Pyykkö's silhouette in the picture and what a spectacular view - if the ridge that he was standing on had been a little lower -or- the western mountains were a littler higher, he wouldn't have even been able to see the eclipse ....

Sort of reminds me of the phrase " if nobody was there to hear it, would a tree falling in the forest make any noise?" At least Mr. Pyykkö can verify that the eclipse occurred!

[owlice]

Information about the eclipse is available on this thread.

More images of the eclipse are available on this thread.

[neufer]

<<El Calafate is a small town in Patagonia, Argentina. Its name is derived from a little bush with yellow flowers and dark blue berries that is very common in Patagonia: the calafate (Berberis buxifolia); the word comes from the word "calafate", which is Spanish for "caulk". El Calafate is an important tourist destination as the hub to visit different parts of the Los Glaciares National Park, including the Perito Moreno Glacier (one of the most visited in the world) and the Cerro Chaltén and Cerro Torre.

The town was officially founded in 1927 by the government of Argentina to promote settlement, but it was the creation of nearby Perito Moreno National Park in 1937 that sparked growth and the building of better road access. The gliding altitude record of 15,460 m was set near El Calafate on 30 August 2006 by Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson in their 'Perlan' high altitude research glider. The town was on the path of the total solar eclipse of July 11, 2010, occurring just before sunset.>>

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Perito Moreno glacier thrives despite global warming

<<Climate change appears to be helping Argentina's mighty Perito Moreno glacier, which is thriving in defiance of the global warming that is shrinking its peers. While most of the world's glaciers are melting away because of warmer temperatures, scientists say the ice field, known as "The White Giant", is gaining as much as three metres a day in some parts, pushed forward by heavy snowfalls in the Patagonia region.

"Glaciers don't respond solely to temperature changes," says Martin Stuefer, a Patagonian expert from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He says the area's heavy precipitation has apparently increased, combining with strong, cold Patagonian winds to reinforce the glacier. Climate change is not the same everywhere," says Stuefer. The creaking Perito Moreno is one of the largest glaciers in South America located 3000 kilometres southwest of Buenos Aires.

Scientists say nearly 90% of the glaciers in Antarctica and Patagonia - at the southern tip of South America - are melting quickly. The same is happening in the Arctic, the Andes, the Alps, the Himalayas and elsewhere in response to climate change linked to human activity. The average melting rate of the world's mountain glaciers has doubled since the year 2000, say the Environment Programme and the World Glacier Monitoring Service in a recent report. Melting glaciers threaten to cause rising sea levels and dry up steady sources of fresh water that people now depend on for farming, drinking and hydropower.

But glaciers are also affected by other factors such as snowfalls, winds, altitude and shade, and the Perito Moreno is among the few resisting the broad trend. "A small percentage seems to be doing strange things," says David Vaughan, a British Antarctic Survey glaciologist and member of the United Nations climate panel. "The odd 13% are either stable or advancing a little."

There are limits to the Perito Moreno's aggressive advance. It periodically reaches as far forward as it can toward the Magallanes Peninsula and then sheds a large section of its front in a spectacular phenomena known as "la ruptura" - the rupture.>>

Source: ABC Science

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<<The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in the south west of Santa Cruz province, Argentina. The 250 km2 ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres wide, with an average height of 74 m above the surface of the water of Lake Argentino, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 170 metres.

Two weeks prior to rupture

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Periodically the glacier advances over the L-shaped "Lago Argentino" ("Argentine Lake") forming a natural dam which separates the two halves of the lake when it reaches the opposite shore. With no escape route, the water-level on the Brazo Rico side of the lake can rise by up to 30 meters above the level of the main lake. The enormous pressure produced by the height of the dammed water finally breaks the ice barrier holding it back, in a spectacular rupture event. This dam/rupture cycle is not regular and it recurs naturally at any frequency between once a year to less than once a decade.

The glacier first ruptured in 1917, taking with it an ancient forest of arrayán (Luma apiculata) trees. The last rupture occurred in July 2008, and previously in 2006, 2004, 1988, 1984, 1980, 1977, 1975, 1972, 1970, 1966, 1963, 1960, 1956, 1953, 1952, 1947, 1940, 1934 and 1917. It ruptures, on average, about every four to five years.

Due to its size and accessibility, Perito Moreno is one of the major tourist drawcards to southern Patagonia. It is less than two hours by bus from El Calafate, and many tour companies run daily visits. A large visitor centre at the site features a walking circuit which allows both faces, and the surface of the glacier to be seen. In recent years, trekking tours on the ice have gained popularity. The two standard tours are a "mini-trekking" option, consisting of a short walk of about an hour and a half, and a "big ice" version, which is usually about five hours. Tour companies generally provide crampons to customers.>>

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[Chris Peterson]

Does the "moon illusion" still apply to a solar eclipse?

Yes. It pretty much works for anything near the horizon. It is particularly strong for rising and setting constellations.

[moonstruck]

Wow, he really had to plan to get that just right. One little cloud and it would have all been for naught. Good job Mr. Pyykko.

[geckzilla]

Looks great! And phew, the Asterisk is back. Its server suffered through a power outage this morning.

[Chris Peterson]

Wow, he really had to plan to get that just right. One little cloud and it would have all been for naught.

That's pretty much the story of eclipse chasing!

[neufer]

Wow, he really had to plan to get that just right.
One little cloud and it would have all been for naught.

That's pretty much the story of eclipse chasing!

Only those in planes plan for clouds.

[Chris Peterson]

Only those in planes plan for clouds. :wink:

The first solar eclipse I chased was in 1979, near Goldendale, Washington. I was on a rise above the valley, and there were major clouds coming in and getting in the way of the partial eclipse already underway. By racing down roads, watching the sky and a map, we were able to find a clear spot just in time for totality. Most people missed out, because they stayed put. So you can "plan" even with a car.

[neufer]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[ken]

that is awesome.

[kwgm]

Why the glow behind and to the south of the standing figure in the foreground?

After watching sunsets over the Front Range of the Rockies for 15 years, (but never seeing a total eclipse in the west), I've noticed a glow following a sunset usually marks the latitude of the sunset. Sometimes there's a little parallax, but I'm close to 40 degrees north and do not see much parallax so near the time of the solstice. I realize this is a different situation -- not a sunset but an eclipse, and I may be looking North West, but why the southern glow, so far from the sunset?

It seems almost as if one sun has just set toward the south, while a second sun is now eclipsing further north, just before setting. The photo reminds me of George Lucas' subtle touch of cinematic imagination in his first Star Wars movie, making Luke's home planet, Tatooine, appear to orbit a binary star system.

What is causing today's illusion back here on Earth? Is that the "Shadow Cone" mentioned in the caption?

[neufer]

Is that the "Shadow Cone" mentioned in the caption?

Yep.

[Wolf Kotenberg]

I witnessed the Goldendale, WA eclipse and took an 8mm movie of the entire event. I was very happy, and lucky m, my decrepid 67 Chevy C20 machine made it that far and in time. Great experience, and cold.

[Case]

I witnessed the Goldendale, WA eclipse and took an 8mm movie.

February 26, 1979, right? Have you digitized the 8mm since? Is there any chance we'll see a public version of (part of) it on YouTube? That would be cool.

[neufer]

I witnessed the Goldendale, WA eclipse and took an 8mm movie.

February 26, 1979, right? Have you digitized the 8mm since? Is there any chance we'll see a public version of (part of) it on YouTube? That would be cool.

<<Many visitors traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse, since it would be the last chance to view a total solar eclipse in the United States for almost four decades. The next over the United states will be the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017.>>

The path of totality passed through Portland, Oregon in early morning.