Eclipse over the Acropolis

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2011-06-25 · NASA (public domain)

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Eclipse over the Acropolis — APOD for 2011-06-25

The total phase of the June 15 lunar eclipse lasted an impressive 100 minutes. Its entire duration is covered in this composite of a regular sequence of digital camera exposures, tracking the dark lunar disk as it arced above the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. In fact , around 270 BCE Greek astronomer Aristarchus also tracked the duration of lunar eclipses, though without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon's distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration. A more modern Greek astronomer, Elias Politis titled this eclipse duration study and the accompanying youtube timelapse video “Acropoclipse” . What was that?: Help identify a mystery flash seen on Mauna Kea

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2011-06-25 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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