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Full Lunar Eclipse for North America
tech81 writes "MSNBC is reporting that all of North America will experience a full lunar eclipse on January 20, which also happens to be the first full moon of the new year. Check out the article at MSNBC Space News."
Ahem. I thought that the lunar eclipse that occured in Turkey, shortly before the earthquake there, was the last lunar eclipse of the century. I understand that a coworker of mine actually went to Turkey to see it. Must have been a hell of an airfare. Such folly.
I wonder how easy it is to predict these events anyway? Don't laugh. Of course Newton's laws work rather well, but is there a limit to how far you can go back or how far ahead you can accurately predict these occurences? Then again, probably not. So why don't these news agencies just release a big list of dates of eclipses and when/where they will happen and start reporting on more important things?
I tried this on my boss. He wasn't worried. He said the moon would be restored in the next service pack.
Last time I had jury duty, I went to a rave the night before. I left there and went straight to report. Needless to say, I got struck immediately, because I reeked of tobacco smoke, and I was kinda staring vacantly at the ceiling. Oh yeah, and I couldn't answer questions coherently.
The only way to do jury duty.. =)
too bad we can't see karma anymore, or we'd know how far we had to send this dumbass down. Oh well, I got him for one. Too bad I can't use all 5 points to send this dude below sea level. People were amazed at the +6 comment that showed up, Lets go for -2!
Which god were you addressing this to?
There are so many....
guess what?
No one gives a FUCK about Europe.
What the hell are grits anyways ?
Some american slang ?
The day after the Transmeta release...
I always knew there was more to their technology.
yet another boring slashdot article.
and Detailed scientific information.
and Detailed scientific information.
and Detailed scientific information .
It's "your a dork", not "you're a dork".
... unless you are consumed yourself by the Southern Californians ;-)
Actually, Oregonians in general hate, or at least dislike Californians. So you'd be better flying here and renting a car than driving.
It is "you're a dork."
"you're" == "you are"
"your" is possessive.
Or maybe you are talking about an "a dork" (whatever that is) that belongs to that person.
Please learn English before you tell somebody else to learn English.
Thank you.
GOO FUCK YORSELF ASSLICKIN DONKIE FUCKER!
Next thing you know /. will post a news item telling us that the next solar eclipse will happen during the day time hours.
Dude, lose the +1 bonus when you're posting off-topic crap. I hope you get scored back down to 1 or 0, which your comment deserves.
That explanation for the apparent size difference of the moon depending on azimuth is moronic. I mean, how often have you looked at a distant object and had your brain decide to 'zoom-in' on it because it's far away? It doesn't happen.
Here's an easier way to test this: go outside when the moon is on the horizon, hold ruler at arms length and measure the apparent size of the moon, then when it's higher in the sky do the same thing. I haven't tried this, but I would bet the measurements would be exactly the same. I'm sure the reason the moon looks smaller when it's higher in the sky is that there's nothing for your brain to compare its size to (except the tiny looking stars, and the huge looking sky), there's no frame of reference. When it's nearer the horizon there are lots of things for your brain to compare it to.
They probably meant to say that the first full moon of the century happens to have an eclipse... Could have been the second or third full moon. Always a full moon, though.
Before calling anyone stupid, I'd like you to converse with me on MY native language.
Nuija.
Obviously you do since you take time to rant about it.
If the weather's so nice there, then why do you disguise it in that funny Fahrenheit number?
you're a dork.
Dude.
You are a dork.
Please, quit posting. You hurt my brain. All of your posts are dorky. Stop!
There wouldn't be.
Because face it, America is more important than the UK/Europe.
We have more people online - mostly because we're not poor stupid bastards who can't afford computers. We're more important because the majority of people are American.
There are a lot of foreign online users, but they're all fucking morons. I wish they wouldn't come to sites like these, but they do. Occasionally. However, mostly they are elsewhere being stupid like the stupid people they are.
America rules.
Sorry. Gotta face the facts, buddy.
This Lunar Eclispe is cool. I can go on a murder and rape spree and no one will see me. nice.
you should do it all the time. it's quite annonying when you see these johnniec come latelies who don't know how to use their new found wealth.
plus, i'll moderate your dumb ass down next time.
What does this have to do with Star Wars TPM not being released in DVD?
:P It's sad what popularity does to a site.
I don't know what's worse... people making wild absurd comments like this, or people talking about naked, petrified, hot grits down the pants.
Is that the man in the Moon with the crona?
I'm drunk with the karma power! Feel my comments surge through your pathetic attempts at moderation!
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I swear some of you people have no sense of humor. Moderate me down; I don't care. Woop-de-doo. Get a life.
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and Detailed scientific information.
and Detailed scientific information.
Now I can plan my week with this useful bit of nformation.
I believe there was a lunar eclipse late last year. So in effect we have an eclipse on either side of our New Year. A totally arbitrary distiction, but a bit ominous to those who believe in omens.
Dude... Lunar eclipses ONLY happen at night. You must be thinking of a solar eclipse.
--synaptik
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
Perhaps viewing this thing would make a good second or third date???? :-)
:-(
Of course, I'm in western Washington where it will probably be obscured by clouds...
I'm pretty much sure that us Northern Californians will have annexed that state, along with Washington state and the opressed Republic of Redmond by then. ;)
WHAT?!?!? a dry night on your 21st? that's horrible. All you gotta do is call in sick... they will give you a new date to appear for jury duty. Unless you're _on_ the jury, they don't have a problem with you rescheduling. I totally _forgot_ to go to jury duty once, and they just rescheduled it- WHEN IT WAS CONVENIENT FOR ME. I'm in CA, so I don't know what the situation is like where you are... but you _gotta_ do something fun for your bday.
Dude, "remember the alamo" was just a slogan. Let it GO, man!
also on my birthday
It will be my 21st birthday. Too bad I have jury duty Jan 21st, so it'll be a very dry night.
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Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
"And now you know... the rest of the story." :^p
Zontar The Mindless,
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
When the UK/European eclipse happened (yes I have registered that it's the other type of eclipse) there were plenty of voices complaining that eclipses aren't "News for Nerds".
On behalf of all those posters may I be the first to point out that if an eclipse isn't news when it happens in Europe, it also isn't news if it happens in America?
There is also one on August 1, 2008 for the Arctic.
Yes, it just happens to be the first full moon of the year.
seems like if we're all lined up enough to make an eclipse it is bound to be a full moon.
Indeed.
I don't think the US will have a solar eclipse until something like 2017 (seems like that's what the ole Farmers Almanac said, but it's been a while since I last read that).
"Cold and dim during daylight hours"? Wouldn't that be a solar eclipse you're describing?
You would be correct...correct in that you are wrong. The moon is indeed orange during an eclipse, because there's no way all the light can be blocked. The small amount of light that hits the moon gives it a nice orange tint.
It is funny that you had no idea what you were talking about though...
ha..ha..........ha (sigh)
A lunar eclipse happens multiple times a year and can be seen everywhere it is night during the eclipse. When the moon is orange, you are witnessing a lunar eclipse. It's really not as big of a deal as a solar eclipse because the shadow is big enough for everyone to see instead of it being localized in a certain place.
This is neither flamebait nor troll, please don't moderate down...
Of course it's a full moon. A full lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon, just as a solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon.
If we can see the dark side of the moon, we're not directly between the moon and the sun, which we must be to completely put the moon in shadow.
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation
Information is not Knowledge
Actually, while only the folks enjoying night time can see the eclipse without electronic aids, it is happening all the same for all the others who are on the sunlit side of the world.
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation
Information is not Knowledge
This is obviously a message from God telling us all that we have, too, started the new millenium. Who are you going to believe, some monk who didn't even know about zero, or a heavenly portent?
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation
Information is not Knowledge
>I would guess that "heppens to be the first full moon of the year" refers to the coincidence of the first full moon of the year being an eclipse.
Ah, thank you - when put that way, it makes complete sense.
this is random, but I've noticed you seem to like to use the word skive.
Insert mind here.
-r
Lunar eclipses only occur during full moons.
Think about it.
There is much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.
No...but youre obviously not as 31337 as you think...we c00l 31337 slashdotters have portable fires that come out of a small box...and little round glass things that look like a miniature sun!
We also have wheels...oh yeah...and hand-dryers!!!!
I think if NASA read that post we'd likely hit Y3K beofre they managed to get back to you using the instructions in your sig.
Cmon, explain what it all means!
I bet you just typed in some random chars in didnt you?
hahaha, and I thought that was caused by Y2K....
I was scared of the sheer volume of mail I might get after all those endless pro-microsoft rants you see...
allright then rob@twcnyrr.com, ive got you now!
hahahaha...is that even right? Im betting the rob and the com are right... but what is twcnyrr, lol
Wow, I think we just found the Full Lunar Eclipse Bug... quick!!! stop those landfill trucks going to your bunker and clean it out....but this time it will be worse... reinforce the concrete by 2 feet more, and stock at least 18 months of canned food this time!!!
Funny, I've gotten about 70 e-mails from Slashdot. That many people seem to have figured out my address.
And it's not like your address is very clear - or, in fact, visible at all.
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Win dain a lotica, en vai tu ri silota
doesn't it *have* to be a full moon to have a total lunar eclipse?
seems like if we're all lined up enough to make an eclipse it is bound to be a full moon.
hey man, don't knock hand-dryers.
... however, due to timezone difference, the eclipse happens late evening 20th January in North America, but in the wee morning 21st January in Europe. Hence American calendars show the full moon on 20th, whereas European ones show it on 21st.
Speaking of Omens: does anybody chance a guess what this eclipse will do the stock markets, and to Linux stocks in particular? The solar eclipse was a boon (RHAT IPO), the "extrabright" full moon of December 22nd was a catastrophe (CORL 4th quarter losses preannouncement), now what kind of news will the lunar eclipse bring?
...for nerds that very day. A very eery coincidence, unless they picked that day on purpose (just wondering...)
... in the early morning hours (sometimes between 4 to 5 am, AFAIK) of January 21st.
When we had the Lunar eclipse in the UK it was an odd and slightly mystical experience. The way it gets cold and dim during daylight hours is wierd but the corona is spectacular!
Enjoy!
That's the day before Kevin Mitnick finally gets his release? Coincidence? I don't think so. This might be a "sign" that his release is a forerunner for... the ANTICHRIST!
Yes, the antichrist will come in mid to late January. S/he didn't come earlier because they wanted to make you feel secure. Safe. Out of the frying pan. Into the fire. What's scarier, the monster jumping out of the closet, or checking the closet, finding it empty, and having the monster jump on your head?
Yes, the antichrist is on his way. The signs will be inflicting demons upon the world (Mitnick, Prince Harry, solo spice girl albums), disappointing software (Quake 3, Netscape "Milestone" 10), and distortions in reality to cloud our sanity (Yahoo share price, linux-based start-ups, Charles Schulz' retirement).
With his/her lackey Mitnick at his side, the antichrist will rule with an iron fist, and all those who bear the mark of the beast (the "apple" logo) will know his/her suzerainty.
The news will be announced on mp3.com, as the antichrist flogs his/her new album. Then the end will come.
http://www.slaughterhouse.ab.ca
Drat. This one's at nighttime, so no time skiving off to wander around outside the office wearing silly shiny overpriced paper goggles, staring at a heavenly body that's got a chunk ripped out of it.
I'll be in bed.
Oh good; I wouldn't want to risk getting a tan or anything. :)
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I have never seen a total solar eclipse in my 35 years of life here in So Cal. Anyone know when we will see a total solar eclipse in North America (particularly here in So Cal)?
I know it's not for a while, but I can't remember how long.
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Must be cold where you are.
P.S. And I'm turning off my bonus for this comment, just for you.
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plot summary: seeing steroscopic stuff in the foreground drives home the point to your brain that the moon is far away. Your brain says, "wow, moderate the size of that sucker up!"
Interesting article. If we took a photograph of the moon when it looks big and one when it looks small to us, would the image of the moon be bigger on the first photograph? I would guess that the moon is bigger in the photograph taken when it looked bigger. Wouldn't this disprove their theory?
After all, every geek on earth has installed /usr/games/rot13 by now, since this Ufie.
<grub> Reading
either way, i hope to find someplace with clear skys, because it'll either be full or nearly full, and pretty cool
the last one i saw was a few years ago, and just really cool
<shameless-plug>also on my birthday</shameless-plug>
we all go to redmond and moon the ms campus
i got your full moon right here
sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/e clipse.html
Four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still. -C. Coolidge
whatever we're seeing in NGC4214 happened 13 million years ago. Not my definition of "currently,"
Nor is it mine, but 13 million years is currently in stellar formation terms. Remember, our Sun is over 4.5 billion years old. The science behind the original statement is sound. My but aren't we quick to judge?
Four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still. -C. Coolidge
>a full lunar eclipse on January 20, which also happens to be the first full moon of the new year.
I thought this was no coincidence, that a full lunar eclipse was only possible when the moon is on the far side of the earth from the sun, which is when it appears full. no? astonomers care to comment?
Flamebait, but I won't bite. Ever learned how to read? I was talking about South America.
This could be funny. Go and see how many people you can convince that the Moon is crashing from a Y2K bug.
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Win dain a lotica, en vai tu ri silota
It would disprove their theory if it actually happened, which I seriously doubt. The moon remains the same size in the sky.
To test this, hold a dime a certain length away from your eye when the moon looks big, so that it just covers it. Then hold it the same distance away when it looks small, and it'll still just cover the moon.
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Win dain a lotica, en vai tu ri silota
Located about 13 million light-years from Earth, NGC4214 (a galaxy) is currently forming clusters of new stars from its interstellar gas and dust.
Excuse me, alleged science journalists: whatever we're seeing in NGC4214 happened 13 million years ago. Not my definition of "currently," although it maybe explains certain software companies' definition of "we'll be coming out with a new version Really Soon Now."
Of course, it might still be "currently" making new stars (right, Mr. Einstein?), but we can't see it.
Didn't the mexicans attack the Alamo during a full lunar eclipse?
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I guess the full moon was just not Y2K complient in North America. A programmers team is working on this issue and a patch will be released soon.
Opus: the Swiss army knife of audio codec
Yes, all lunar eclipses occur when the moon is full. Think of it this way, the only way that the earth can block the sun's light from getting to the moon would be if the sun was at 6-O'clock, and the moon was at 12-O'clock (using that crazy military reference where 6-o'clock is exactly behind you and 12-o'clock is exactly in front of you).
The greatest irony is that the moon is at it's fullest at precisely the time that we can't see it. When it is totally eclipsed.
Ignore Alien Orders
Excuuuuse me? What in the world does it mean for a lunar eclipse to be ``in (for) North America''?
This would make sense for a solar eclipse, since solar eclipses are very localized, but a solar eclipse happens at the new moon, whereas a lunar eclipse happens at the full moon (for obvious reasons).
A lunar eclipse is visible throughout the hemisphere where it is night (which, of course, is the same as the hemisphere where the moon is visible, since the moon and the sun are in opposition), so at best the ``north'' in ``North America'' is out of place.
This fact (that lunar eclipses are visible from half the world whereas solar eclipses are visible from such a small region) makes lunar eclipses seem much more common than solar eclipses; in fact, the contrary is true. The last total solar eclipse in the world was on August 11, 1999 in Europe (I was there), and the next one is next year in Madagascar.
Dear God:
This is to notify you that your program entitled 'full-moon screen saver' has a rather severe cosmetic Y2K bug in it. As a result, on January 20'th of your year 2000, the full moon will experience color and brightness difficulties that significantly deviate from the published standard. Our analysts believe there is even a chance it may turn red, a widely touted feature of your 'shutdown/halt' program, possibly causing confusion among your users.
We strongly encourage you to correct this problem at your earliest convenience.
Y2K Watchdog committee
For all of you that work in an NT shop, all you need to do is tell your boss that if you don't switch over to Linux before January 20, you'll make the moon disappear. Who knows, it might even work.
On another, related front, I've found that astronomical events make great times to get with your significant other and spend some quality time...
I'm not interested in this full moon eclipse unless the moon will be big and bright enough that you could drive without headlights. With a fresh coat of snow and a full moon, you can almost do this in Minnesota already, but...
I understand that the Druids used a lunar eclipse to make a sneak attack on Crazy Horse, shortly after he used the light of an unusually bright moon the previous month to defeat George Washington's army at the battle of Waterloo. They went on to build the Great Wall of China, before finally settling in what's now called Venezuela, but I could be wrong -- there seems to be a little too much historical confusion about celestial events as of late... :-)
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E2 IN2 IE?
This will truly be an exciting night! I suggest everyone emails every person they know with this amazing news!
Next total solar eclipse visible from the United States: 21 August 2017. If you live in California, you'll have to go to Oregon to see it (assuming that Oregon's that state north of California, my US geography is not too good)
Then there's a total solar eclipse visible from Texas to the Great Lakes on 8 Apr 2024.
A third American total solar eclipse is on 12 Aug 2045, visible from northern California to Florida.
There's more, but it's pointless posting those because you won't be around in 2078 or 2099 to see those ones (unless you're a Montgomery-Burns-style head-in-a-jar-of-liquid then...)
As for total lunar eclipses, I'll give details of upcoming total eclipses by naming the dates and the approximate position of the point of the Earth's surface that's directly overhead at maximum eclipse:
For the Americans, who are the majority of the Slashotters, these total lunar eclipses should be visible at some point in the night in question:
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke