Thursday, February 7, 2008

Eclipse

Friends,

The above is a picture of an eclipse seen at sunset over a dozen years ago, but is also representative of an eclipse which can be seen today (February 7th) over New Zealand and Antarctica. I hear its balmy this time of year in that part of the world. :-) Now, this eclipse can be seen today, and today only, so if you really wanted to get there -- it isn't happening (unless you can teleport, which gets us into sci-fi, which isn't the purpose of this post). So...the best you can do is enjoy this picture with me. What is amazing about an eclipse is -- 1). There will be another one come along in the not too distant future, not only in our hemisphere, but also over our continent; 2). It is truly amazing how the Lord made the sun and moon the precise right size and distance from the earth so that, many times, eclipses are complete coverage (that is, concerning the solar variety -- moon passing between earth and sun). In the case of our above pic, the orbital variation of the moon -- it is further from the earth -- allows some of the sun's corona to shine around the edge of the moon. Also fyi, lunar eclipses occur when the earth passes between the sun and moon and the earth casts its shadow on the moon (which, most times, appears as a dusty red color...concerning which, you probably knew all about it anyway). Nevertheless, to our Kiwi friends and Antarctic explorers (or residents), enjoy the show.

Don

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don,
How many times do you think the sun will come between us and the moon in this decade? Mable Een