October 29, 2004
Billions of years of cosmic evolution — the birth and death of stars, the slow coalescence of planets, the patient unfolding of life — all...
Red Moon Triple
Birthday · October 29, 2004
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APOD published October 29, 2004. Credit: Fred Espenak. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Some thought of baseball and some thought of Halloween during October 27th's widely viewed total lunar eclipse. Sliding through Earth's shadow, the Moon turned haunting shades of red and orange during the eclipse's total phase. The reddish hues are caused by sunlight scattered and refracted by the atmosphere into the Earth's otherwise dark central shadow region. Enjoying the show from Dunkirk, Maryland, USA, astronomer Fred Espenak recorded the images used in this composite photo. The picture shows the Moon at the beginning (right), middle (center) and end (left) of totality which lasted about 81 minutes. Though lunar eclipses can occur twice a year, this eclipse is perhaps remarkable for being the first total lunar eclipse to occur during a World Series baseball game.
Image credit: Fred Espenak