                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2018 August 2
                                      [2]
                        Eclipse over the Gulf of Poets
              Image Credit & Copyright [3] : Paolo Lazzarotti [4]

Explanation: The total phase of the July 27 lunar eclipse [5] lasted for an
impressive 103 minutes. That makes it the longest total lunar eclipse of the
21st century [6] . The Moon passed through the center of Earth's shadow [7]
while the Moon was near apogee, the most distant point in its elliptical
orbit. From start to finish, the entire duration of totality is covered in
this composite view. A dreamlike scene, it includes a sequence of digital
camera exposures made every three minutes. The exposures track the totally
eclipsed lunar disk, accompanied on that night by bright planet Mars, as it
climbs above the seaside village of Tellaro, Italy. In the foreground lies the
calm mediteranean Gulf of La Spezia, known to some as the Gulf of Poets [8] .
In the 3rd century BCE, heliocentric astronomer Aristarchus [9] also tracked
the duration of lunar eclipses, though without the benefit of digital clocks
[10]  and cameras. Using geometry he devised [11]  a way to calculate [12] the
Moon's distance from the eclipse duration, in terms of the radius of planet
Earth.

                      Tomorrow's picture: still moonlight

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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1808/eclipse20180717lazzarotti.jpg
  [3] http://hubblesite.org/about_us/copyright.php
  [4] mailto: info [at] paololazzarotti [dot] photo
  [5] http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/
LE2018Jul27Tprime.html
  [6] http://earthsky.org/tonight/ centurys-longest-lunar-eclipse-july-27
  [7] https://www.nasa.gov/content/eclipses-and-transits-overview
  [8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Percy_Bysshe_Shelley#Death
  [9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristarchus_of_Samos
  [10] http://itotd.com/articles/297/ revenge-of-the-analog-clock/
  [11] http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Shipprc2.htm
  [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ On_the_Sizes_and_Distances_(Aristarchus)
  [13] ap180801.html
  [14] archivepix.html
  [15] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [16] lib/aptree.html
  [17] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [18] calendar/allyears.html
  [19] /apod.rss
  [20] lib/edlinks.html
  [21] lib/about_apod.html
  [22] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180802
  [23] ap180803.html
  [24] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [25] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [26] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [27] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [28] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [29] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [30] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [31] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [32] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [33] http://www.mtu.edu/
