Lunar Eclipse: Clouded out here!

Posted by Ethan on February 20, 2008
(4)
More »

I was driving home from work at about 6:30 today and noticed the Moon, still orange, hanging low on the horizon. The lower left corner was just starting to be shadowed by the Earth. As it rose a little higher, it turned yellow and then white, as we learned it should.

Then we got clouded out, and right now, during totality, the entire sky is covered in clouds. But I started thinking, “What if I were in space?” Well, the Moon appears red/orange every day during Moonrise/Moonset from Earth, but would appear white from space. But the red/orange during a total eclipse? The Moon would still be that color even from space during an eclipse! Even to a Venusian or a Martian! In fact, to someone anywhere in space, a total lunar eclipse would be the only time the Moon would appear reddish/orange.

That’s all; a quick post because I thought that was neat. Hope your eclipse-watching goes better than mine!

UPDATE: Orbiting frog has a few things to say about that, but one thing they have is a (computer generated) video of what watching the lunar eclipse might be like from the surface of the Moon! Take a look below:

And if you haven’t gotten enough Astronomy yet, take a look at this week’s Carnival of Space, where they link to my awesome post about why we need dark matter!

Keywords: , , , , , , , , ,
(4)
More »

Comments

  1. #1 Zrinka
    February 21, 2008

    clouds in Croatia too.. I saw small part of the red Moon, and that’s it..
    when its going to happen next one?
    Lunar Eclipse from space… that would be an amazing sight with blue Earth and orange Moon

  2. #2 ethan
    February 21, 2008

    Sounds like a bowl of Lucky Charms!! Unless you were in between the Earth and the Moon, putting you in the Earth’s shadow. Then, you’d have an orange Moon on one side and an Earth that was just a red/orange ring, with no Sun!

  3. #3 benhead
    February 21, 2008

    It was well below freezing here, and was too big a wuss to stay out for the whole thing, but I peeked out every 10 minutes or so. Very cool, though I just missed totality (caught it just as one thin sliver was emerging from the shadow).

  4. #4 Tamara
    February 21, 2008

    Saw your post on the eclipse, read the next one wasn’t until 2010, and planned ahead of time for once. It was the first time I got to see a lunar eclipse in all of its phases, so thanks for posting the info on it; the eclipse was unforgettably beautiful. We were lucky it was clear last night, even if freezing, in Queeens NY.