Who Knows Science?

You try to pay some attention in science class. You watch nature shows on T.V. You try to keep up with scientific advances. However, for everything you know, there are a million things you don't. For example, would someone please explain to me how tomorrow's lunar eclipse can be visible until 08:24 am EDT here in Massachusetts, when according to the weather almanac, sunrise is at 06:04 am EDT?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yo, doofus brother o' mine:

A lunar eclipse happens at a full moon when the Earth gets exactly between the sun and the moon. The eclipse is the Earth's shadow on the moon.

So, what does rotation of the Earth--the time of day--have to do with that?

SteveBrooklineMA said...

Cool! My first reply to a post. I am on my way to fame and fortune with this blog thing.

If the earth is between the sun and the moon, how can I see both at the same time? How can I see a lunar eclipse two hours after the sun has risen?

Anonymous said...

How long does it take for the Earth's shadow to travel from just touching one side of the moon, through full occlusion, to just touching the other?

I haven't looked it up, but I'd guess it's about 4 hours--2 on either side of full eclipse.

Which gives you your eclipse still visible at 8AM.

SteveBrooklineMA said...

My only point was that when the sun is above the horizon, you can't see a lunar eclipse. Someone else may see it, but not you. Telling people here that the eclipse peaks an hour after the sun rises is just going to irritate people who try to see it then.