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Birthday · November 7, 2003

November's Lunar Eclipse

November 7, 2003

You were not dropped into the cosmos as a stranger. You came from it entirely: borrowed from stars, carried by Earth, warmed by the Sun, and...

November's Lunar Eclipse

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APOD published November 7, 2003. Credit: Larry Koehn. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

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November's Lunar Eclipse

Original APOD · November 7, 2003

The Moon slides through the Earth's shadow this Saturday night / Sunday morning (November 8/9) giving skygazers in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and western Asia a chance to enjoy a total lunar eclipse. As lunar eclipses go, this will be a brief one though, with the total phase lasting only about 25 minutes. The orientation and relative size of the Earth's shadow and the Moon's trajectory are illustrated in this thoughtful animation showing the full Moon moving up from the lower right, entering the penumbra or outer portion of the shadow region, and then passing well below the center of the darker inner shadow region or umbra. The total eclipse phase begins at 1:06 Universal Time, November 9 (8:06pm EST Nov. 8) when the Moon is completely within the umbra. While the off-center passage guarantees a short total phase, it also makes it likely that this November's eclipsed Moon will be dramatically visible and colorful with a brighter rim along the southern edge.

Image credit: Larry Koehn

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