Community Corner

Moon Turns Red During Lunar Eclipse

It was visible to Westerners in person Saturday, and everyone online. The next such event will be in 2014.

Updated 11:14 a.m., Dec. 10, 2011

Residents of Suwanee and Gwinnett County were able to view a lunar eclipse Saturday morning -- online. And the ones who logged on saw the moon turn red.

About 7:45 a.m. on the East Coast, the Earth came between the sun and its only moon, therefore casting a shadow. However, it was only visible in person to people in Asia and Australia and on the western coast of the U.S. It will be the last lunar eclipse until 2014, according to news reports.

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But technology opened this to viewing. Slooh, the online space camera, broadcast a real-time feed of the eclipse from telescopes in Australia, Asia and Hawaii. The feed was accessible via Slooh's homepage, or by downloading the Android app at the Android Market store. Is this a great Internet or what?

The moon appeared totally covered by Earth's shadow about 9:30 a.m. EST.

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As it was explained in a NASA release, the eclipse appeared red, not black, because a delicate layer of dusty air surrounding Earth redirected the light of the sun, filling the darkness behind Earth with a sunset-red glow.

So tell us what you thought about the lunar eclipse.


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