2003 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE IN YOUR BACK YARD
| G03-030 | 05/14/03 | 00:05:28 | The May 15 lunar eclipse will make a certified skywatcher out of everyone. Visible in nearly all of the country, lunar eclipses don't require any special glasses or telescopes - simply walk out into your backyard! This is the first total lunar eclipse in more than three years and begins on the east coast arou
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): What to Expect
- A total lunar eclipse can only take place during a full Moon when the Moon passes into the dark portion of Earth's shadow. Totality should occur at 10:03 pm ET and at moonrise in the West. In totality the moon can appear a shade of copper red, making the view even more spectacular.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Scenes From Past Lunar Eclipses - The ancient Mayans referred to lunar eclipses as the Moon being devoured by a giant jaguar. In reality the Sun, Earth and Moon align so that the Earth's shadow is cast onto the Moon. This sequence shows a previous Total Lunar Eclipse from November 29, 1993.
Courtesy: Fred Espenak
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| ITEM (3): Once in a Red Moon? - Like reds that appear during sunset, the Earth's atmosphere bends and refracts sunlight on the Moon. It filters out the blue color, leaving a red or orange. In years when the upper atmosphere is less than clear, such as after Mt. Pinatubo erupted, the Moon appeared darkened or hardly visible. With no major recent events, this eclipse should be fairly bright.
Courtesy: Fred Espenak
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| ITEM (4): Busy May: The Mercury Transit - Another type of eclipse occurred one week ago, sort of. The planet Mercury passed by the top region of the Sun on May 7. While hard to observe from Earth, two of NASA's spacecraft had front-row seats. Little science is gleaned from these transits, but it does give scientists the chance to do some experiments and calibration with their spacecraft. These views from TRACE and SOHO, respectively.
Courtesy: NASA/LMSAL
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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| ITEM (5): Busy May: An Annular Solar Eclipse - During a solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun in view of Earth. During a lunar eclipse, the Earth's shadow crosses the moon. So rather than Sun-Moon-Earth, it's more like Sun-Earth-Moon. An annular solar eclipse will occur May 31 during which the Moon appears smaller than the Sun, so as not to completely block it out. That event will be visible from Iceland and Europe.
Courtesy: Fred Espenak
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| ITEM (6): Soundbites From Dr. Fred Espenak, NASA Astronomer
Courtesy: NASA
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