APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 28)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 28)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:06 am

Image Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake

Explanation: Recorded in 2014 April, this total lunar eclipse sequence looks south down icy Waterton Lake from the Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, planet Earth. The most distant horizon includes peaks in Glacier National Park, USA. An exposure every 10 minutes captured the Moon's position and eclipse phase, as it arced, left to right, above the rugged skyline and Waterton town lights. In fact, the sequence effectively measures the roughly 80 minute duration of the total phase of the eclipse. Around 270 BC, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus also measured the duration of lunar eclipses - though probably without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon's distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration. This modern eclipse sequence also tracks the successive positions of Mars, above and right of the Moon, bright star Spica next to the reddened lunar disk, and Saturn to the left and below.

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hoohaw

Re: APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 2

Post by hoohaw » Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:17 am

"2015 September 28" Thanks APOD for using this date format. Even better, in my opinion, would be "2015 September 28 Monday," or perhaps "2015 Sep 28 Mon" .

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Re: APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 2

Post by saturno2 » Mon Sep 28, 2015 12:12 pm

Interesting image of 2014

Tszabeau

Re: APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 2

Post by Tszabeau » Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:55 pm

Is my imagination running wild again or is the surface of the lake crystalizing, in this sequence? Maybe it's photographic artifact from the timing?

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Re: APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 2

Post by MarkBour » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:02 pm

Awesome. Spica is so close to the Moon, it even demonstrates the Moon's retrograde motion in the course of the total eclipse. (Of course, so does Earth's shadow.)
Mark Goldfain

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Re: APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 2

Post by LocalColor » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:33 pm

Nice series.

We lucked out and had clear sky last night. From our location in the mountains, the moon was already in totality when we rotated into view.

Mikado

Re: APOD: Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake (2015 Sep 2

Post by Mikado » Tue Sep 29, 2015 1:25 am

Tszabeau wrote:Is my imagination running wild again or is the surface of the lake crystalizing, in this sequence? Maybe it's photographic artifact from the timing?
At that time of year (April) there is still ice on that lake.

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