[ad_1]
By Christian Satorius
On July 27, the moon disappears for 103 minutes in the shadow of the Earth. Researchers are expecting a similar event for the year 2123.
For most people, this will be the last chance of their lives. On July 27, we can observe the longest lunar eclipse of the century. At the show, the moon will appear in bright colors. An experiment But how does a lunar eclipse occur? And what riddles surround our natural satellites?
What exactly happens in the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century?
On July 27, 2018, we are expecting the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century, at 103 minutes. The earth grows between the sun and the moon and the shadow. The shadow of the Earth then gradually causes the lunar darkening of the moon for a total lunar eclipse. At 20:24 Central European Summer Time (CEST) enters the moon, according to the US NASA Space Agency in the shadow of the earth. The total eclipse starts at 9:30 pm when it has completely entered the Earth's shadow and ends at 11:33 after 103 minutes, when the moon of the Earth leaves the shadow of the heart again and again. This process, according to NASA astronomers, will be completed at 0:19 pm Central European summer. Of course, what we see from the whole show also depends on the weather. The sky should be as free of clouds as possible. But it's already clear: anyone who misses this lunar eclipse will no longer have the chance to observe such a total lunar eclipse during this century. However, anyone who can wait until June 9, 2123 will be rewarded with a longer eclipse.
Why is the moon sometimes white, sometimes red and sometimes blue?
When the moon is high in the starry sky, he usually sees white. The white always appears white when it is directly illuminated by the sun and reflects all the spectral colors that make up the sunlight. In a lunar eclipse, the Earth's orb can also shine in orange or even in red. These colors appear when the earth grows partly or completely in the direct path of the beam between the sun and the moon. The sunlight, which is falling above the earth on the moon, must first penetrate the atmosphere of the Earth at least partially – depending on the advance of the # 39; darkness. However, the more sunlight pbades through the Earth's atmosphere, the shorter its blue, violet and green shortwave fractions of the smaller particles or molecules in the atmosphere are scattered and thus virtually eliminated from the previously white light. "The light that falls on the moon near the shadow of the earth has come the longest way," says the meteorologist Weihenstephan Hans Häckel. In other words, when sunlight only briefly pbades through the upper and lower layers of the atmosphere, there is more yellow and orange shortwave that can brighten the moon accordingly. In very special circumstances, land gravid may even appear blue, for example after volcanic eruptions or even after forest fires. "In 1883, the Indonesian volcano Krakatau burst and threw so much dust in the air that the moon around the world seemed blue and the sun was green," says George F. Spagna, a physicist at Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia.
Does the moon shine during the day?
At night, the moon comes off visually, of course, particularly well from the dark night sky. But he is also seen several times during the day. Anyone who disturbs and looks closer can certainly discover it during the day, even if the light of day usually overshadows its brightness. Although it is particularly concise to have a moon as full as possible in the daylight flooded with sunlight, one can also see that the moon is decreasing and decreasing. Anyway, if you explore the sky, you can try to find stars because they can be recognized during the day, even if they are largely overshadowed by sunlight because of their size and shape. their distance to the earth. The moon and stars are better recognized in the morning and evening at dusk, provided the sky is as clear as possible.
Why does not the moon shine like the stars of the sky?
Moon but not. Why? "The stars shine because their light must penetrate the earth's atmosphere, which is several kilometers long," says John Graham, astronomer emeritus at the Carnegie Institute in Washington. "This atmosphere is full of air currents and turbulence that act like small lenses and prisms that light the stars several times a second." In other words, with so many tiny stars in the sky, it seems like a spark or a flicker. However, the Moon is far too big to be visually perceptible from the Earth's point of view, so the gaps are equalized here. For this reason, the moon does not shine as beautifully as the stars.
Where do the rings come from around the moon?
"Moon Court" is the name of the ring of color rings of light sometimes seen around the moon. It is caused by the humidity of the atmosphere, also by water droplets or ice crystals in the clouds. The deepest of these halos (halo) is usually bluish to whitish and is surrounded by a yellowish, which in turn surrounded by a reddish. This sequence can be repeated several times. "Wreaths are created by diffracting light from water drops or ice crystals in the clouds," Hans Häckel explains. "The redirection of rays of light causes overlays, interferences, which in turn produce colored rings."
Read more news from the region? Try the full Print & Web Plus package for 9 days for free!
Source link
