September 21, 2015 - In the Shadow of Earth
In the Shadow of Earth Observers in the Americas, Europe, and Africa will see a total lunar eclipse Sunday night. Beginning 9:07 PM ET, the Moon will enter the umbra, or darkest part, of Earth’s shadow and will be completely eclipsed by 10:11 PM ET. At the distance of the Moon, the Earth casts a shadow that is about 9,000 km wide (5,550 mi), two-and-a-half times the diameter of the Moon. The Moon won’t pass through the widest part of the shadow, but it will still be completely eclipsed for just over an hour. During this time, the Moon will take on a dark, ruddy hue caused by sunlight being refracted through Earth’s atmosphere. This composite image by Jay GaBany shows the eclipse of April 15, 2014. Jay imaged the Moon, then a few nights later revisited the same spot of the sky to capture the star field.
Image credit: R. Jay GaBany / Cosmotography.com
Weekly Calendar
September 21-27, 2015
Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
Monday 21
Venus at greatest illuminated extent
First Qtr Moon 4:59 AM ET
1866: H. G. Wells born
1874: Gustav Holst born
1974: Mariner 10 flies by Mercury for second time
2003: Galileo mission ends
Tuesday 22
Yom Kippur begins at sunset
1990: Pioneer 10 reaches 50 AU from Sun
2006: Hinode spacecraft launched
2014: MAVEN spacecraft enters orbit around Mars
Wednesday 23
Equinox 4:21 AM ET
1783: Caroline Herschel discovers NGC 253
1846: J. G. Galle discovers Neptune
1962: “The Jetsons” premieres
1977: Third glide test of space shuttle Enterprise
Thursday 24
Mars 0.8° north of Regulus
Pluto appears stationary
1930: John Young born
1962: MOOSE astronaut rescue system proposed
1970: Luna 16 returns lunar soil samples
1999: IKONOS-1 launched
2014: Mars Orbiter Mission enters orbit around Mars
Friday 25
1973: 59-day Skylab 3 mission ends
1992: Mars Observer launched
1997: STS-86 Atlantis launched
2008: Shenzhou 7 launched
2013: Soyuz TMA-10M launched carrying ISS Expedition 37/38 crew
2014: Soyuz TMA-14M launched carrying ISS Expedition 41/42 crew
Saturday 26
Neptune 3° south of Moon
Sunday 27
Moon at perigee
Full Moon 10:50 PM ET
Total lunar eclipse (Americas, Europe)
1814: Daniel Kirkwood born
2007: Dawn spacecraft launched