Ep. 160: Eclipses

Solar eclipse. Image credit: Fred Espenak, NASA

Every now and then, the Moon destroys the Sun. Okay, not destroys, covers. Well, not really covers, but from here on Earth, sitting inside the shadow of the Moon, that's what it sure looks like. These events are called eclipses, or more precisely, transits and occultations. They occur whenever one object passes in front of another from a 3rd perspective. They're beautiful and exciting, and deliver a tremendous amount of science as well.

Ep. 160: Eclipses

• Eclipse:  An astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another.
• Transit: Event that occurs when one celestial body appears to move across the face of another celestial body, as seen by an observer at some particular vantage point.
• Occulation: Event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer.
• Solar Eclipse – Mr. Eclipse
• What causes an eclipse? — Earthview.com
• NASA's Solar and Lunar Eclipse Calendar
• Moon's inclined orbit — Fourmilab
• Sun-Eating Dragon — Exploratorium
• Traditional tales of solar eclipeses – Color of India
• Lunar Eclipses for Beginners – Mr. Eclipse
• How Lunar Eclipses Work — How Stuff Works
• Eclipses on other planets – Cornell U
• Transits of Venus
• Transit of Venus in 2012
• James Cook and the Transit of Venus — Science@NASA
• Using the transit of Venus to measure an AU — Exploratorium
• Transits of Mercury
• Safety during solar eclipses — NASA
• Using a kitchen colander to see an eclipse — NASA
• Thousand Oaks Filters
• Oceanside Photo and Telescope
• Herschel Telescope
• Transit method to look for extrasolar planets
• Terrestrial Planet Finder
• Pluto's atmosphere — Universe Today
• Asteroid Occultations

1. Jasper Chang Says:
   November 12th, 2009 at 9:19 am

   Look Forward to It

2. David Madison Says:
   November 12th, 2009 at 9:42 am

   It jaw-droppingly surprised me to hear that an eclipse of a star by its exoplanet could reveal intelligent life with a four-inch telescope.

3. Joel Simon Says:
   November 17th, 2009 at 3:56 am

   Thank you for doing an episode on eclipses. I really enjoyed listening to this episode and learned a lot from it. I had always been focused on the beauty of solar eclipses rather than lunar eclipses but wil now take a fresh look at lunar ones.

   I think you could also do another episode on the many beautiful things one can see in a solar eclipse, such as the diamond ring effect and Bailey's Beads. Although less scientific and more adventure story, it would also be interesting to hear the stories of sceintists and amateurs who travel the world following total solar eclipses and compare their experiences in differnet landscapes, seasons and times of day.

4. jim Says:
   November 24th, 2009 at 5:04 am

   Shame no new episodes. Please don't start the next one promising to have a regular schedule, its been said too many times already.

   Ta,
   -j

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