http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/ ... lipse.html

Gump

Too bad 70-90% cloud cover here tonight.

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Shit, that ain't nothin, we've had a total eclipse here since last week. Haven't seen the moon or the sun. Gonna be another 3 days 'til we see anything but cloud bases, and they have been at eye level for the most part.
Gary

Hoping for CAVU conditions tonight. I'm at work so it will be a nice lunchtime event!

It's looking good right now, about 30% obscured...excellent viewing conditions from Reno.

The eclipse is totally amazing. Don't hate us for having absolute perfect viewing conditions here in King Salmon, because there are two mitigating circumstances. First, I've spent my entire life failing to see eclipses because every single one of every single sort has arrived with cloudy skies, no matter where I am located, until this one. Second, in case that one doesn't get any sympathy, it's -1F here...

My wife just dashed outside to look at it again. My turn now. Carry on.

Crap! High clouds, in the state with greater than 320 days per year of clear skies. Figures!

partly cloudy, but my wife and I watched it. A bit brisk weatherwise!

Couldn't see a thing for the clouds. Anyone take photos?

The eclipse looked just like all the other ones...

The best part is, it's the shortest day of the year... finally.

Perfectly clear here (and very cold, -42F) and no city lights to interfere. It was really quite beautiful to watch.

And the best part is that we are now over the hump (Winter Solstice) and the days are going to start getting longer.

Nizina

We had high clouds here, I though we were going to get screwed out of seeing it. Then it cleared up around 9 pm. Around 0F and clear. Pretty cool to see, my first one in AK.

gb

I'm confused. Don't we have a total lunar eclipse once a month???

MTV

How many know which lasts longer: a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse. Reason?

Skystrider wrote:How many know which lasts longer: a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse. Reason?

What is Lunar by far.

What is Orbital Mechanics.

It was cloudy here so I didn't get to see it but I did see one a few years age. Would like to see one again!!

Reuben

Skystrider wrote:How many know which lasts longer: a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse. Reason?

That's a false dichotomy. You could get a job writing survey questions for the government!

Usually, lunar eclipses are longer than solar eclipses, but sometimes it's the other way around. Each eclipse, whether solar or lunar, has a unique time of duration. The reason is that the moon's orbit is not in the same plane as the earth's equator, and the moon's orbit is also not in the same plane as the earth's orbit around the sun. You could have a lunar eclipse that lasts anywhere from an instant (the smallest partial eclipse) to around four hours (the longest total eclipse). Similarly, a solar eclipse could last anywhere from an instant to around 7 minutes.

Personally, I've always taken exception to measuring solar eclipses as the duration of shadow at a single point on the ground. If the observer is on the moon, he or she would see the moon's shadow cross the entire earth, and it would then be measured as up to four hours, just like a lunar eclipse.

I saved myself alot of time.. Went in the room, turned out the lights, snaped a picture of nothing with the cell phone and sent it out to all my friends n told them this is what it looked like from Alaska then went to bed.

First day of winter too.

Days get longer now. WooT!

kevbert wrote:

Skystrider wrote:How many know which lasts longer: a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse. Reason?

That's a false dichotomy. You could get a job writing survey questions for the government!

Usually, lunar eclipses are longer than solar eclipses, but sometimes it's the other way around. Each eclipse, whether solar or lunar, has a unique time of duration. The reason is that the moon's orbit is not in the same plane as the earth's equator, and the moon's orbit is also not in the same plane as the earth's orbit around the sun. You could have a lunar eclipse that lasts anywhere from an instant (the smallest partial eclipse) to around four hours (the longest total eclipse). Similarly, a solar eclipse could last anywhere from an instant to around 7 minutes.

Personally, I've always taken exception to measuring solar eclipses as the duration of shadow at a single point on the ground. If the observer is on the moon, he or she would see the moon's shadow cross the entire earth, and it would then be measured as up to four hours, just like a lunar eclipse.

The answer is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_eclipse

I witnessed a total solar eclipse in 1998 aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The ship maneuvered for the best time. It was seven minutes at totality. It was absolutely spectacular to see the wall of darkness coming across the ocean at more than 700 mph!