February 2, 1998
The Moon has changed phase thousands of times since the beginning of the cosmos, but only once did it shine on the night you arrived.
A Triple Eclipse on Jupiter
Birthday · February 2, 1998
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published February 2, 1998. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Part of Jupiter is missing. Actually, three parts appear to be missing. In reality though, the three dark spots seen in the above photograph are only shadows. The unusual alignment of three of Jupiter's moons between the Jovian giant and the Sun was imaged last November 10th. The shadows of Io, Callisto, and Ganymede move across Jupiter as these moons progress in their orbits. It was by noting the times of eclipse of Jupiter's moons in 1675 that Ole Roemer became the first person to measure the speed of light. When a shadow from Earth's Moon crosses the Earth's surface, the people inside the shadow see an eclipse of the Sun.