About the Eclipse

In case you did not know, there is going to be a lunar eclipse tomorrow
night.  By itself, that is not terribly unusual.
 What is unusual about this event, though, is that at some
times and places, it will be possible to see both
the setting sun and the partly-eclipsed moon at the
same time.


i-44e2cd86ade021bb1f13aa8dd238716b-lunar eclipse.jpg



At first glance, that would seem impossible. After all, the eclipse
only occurs when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.  



But it can happen.  


The reason is that the atmosphere of the Earth diffracts the light that
forms the images of the Sun and the Moon.  That bends the path
of the light, making it possible, under just the right circumstances,
for a person to see both at the same time.  The explanation is
href="http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070302_ns_eclipse_elsewhere.html">here,
along with a description of where this can be seen (weather permitting.)


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I have witnessed something very close to this. I was riding S on 395 (in CA, just S of Red Rock and China Lake). The road there runs due N-S. I became aware that I could see the Sun out of the corner of my right eye, and the full moon out of the corner of my left eye. I rode like this for at least a half-hour. Then, about two hours after the sun set, there was a lunar eclipse.

The moment has never left me. A very nagual moment.

By david1947 (not verified) on 02 Mar 2007 #permalink