A Total Lunar Eclipse Over Tajikistan
Video Credit & Copyright:
Jean-Luc Dauvergne
(Ciel et Espace);
Music: Valère Leroy & Sophie Huet
(Space-Music)
If the full Moon suddenly faded, what would you see?
The answer was recorded in a dramatic time lapse
video
taken during the total lunar
eclipse in 2011
from
Tajikistan.
During a
total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun,
causing the moon to fade dramatically.
The Moon never gets completely dark,
though, since the Earth's atmosphere
refracts some light.
As the featured video begins, the scene may appear to be daytime and sunlit, but actually it is a nighttime and lit by the glow of the full Moon.
As the
Moon
becomes eclipsed and fades, background stars become
visible and here can be seen reflected in a lake.
Most spectacularly, the
sky surrounding the eclipsed moon
suddenly appears to be
full of stars
and highlighted by the busy plane of our
Milky Way Galaxy.
The sequence repeats with a closer view,
and the final image shows the placement of the eclipsed Moon near the
Eagle,
Swan,
Trifid, and
Lagoon nebulas.
Nearly two hours after the eclipse started, the moon emerged from the Earth's shadow and its bright full
glare again dominated the sky.
Later today or tomorrow, depending on your location relative to the
International Date Line, a new
total lunar eclipse will take place --
with totality being primarily visible over northeastern
Asia and northwestern
North America.