AstronomyEarthSky | Earth’s shadow: When can you see it?

EarthSky | Earth’s shadow: When can you see it?

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View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Did you miss the lunar eclipse earlier this month, when Earth’s shadow fell on the moon? Like all worlds orbiting a sun, Earth casts a shadow. It extends some 870,000 miles (1.4 million km) into space. And you’ll see it – simply – twice a day. You’ll wish to look eastward after sundown for the shadow (or westward earlier than dawn). Earth’s shadow is the darkish blue line above the horizon. And the Belt of Venus is the identify for the pink band above the shadow. Stephanie Longo captured this picture at Eleven Mile Canyon State Park in Colorado in 2020. You possibly can simply see Earth’s shadow, above the ridgeline, to the precise of the picture. Thanks, Stephanie!

Earth’s shadow is straightforward to see

Like all worlds orbiting a sun, Earth casts a shadow. It’s straightforward to see within the sky, simply after sundown and earlier than dawn. In reality, you’ve in all probability already seen Earth’s shadow, many occasions, as day modifications to nighttime.

That’s as a result of night time itself is a shadow. When night time falls, you’re standing throughout the shadow of Earth.

The very best time to observe for Earth’s shadow is when it’s creeping up in your a part of Earth … Like all shadows, the shadow of Earth is all the time reverse the sun. So, you’ll wish to look eastward after sundown for the shadow (or westward earlier than dawn).

Within the photographs above and beneath, Earth’s shadow is the darkish blue line above the horizon. And the pink band above the shadow is the Belt of Venus.

Nearly full moon rising over the Gulf of Mexico, in the midst of Earth's shadow.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cissy Beasley captured the moon from Rockport, Texas on September 30. She wrote: “As a longtime fan of the unique StarDate radio present after I was a scholar at UT Austin, I’ve since been intrigued with nature images. As knowledgeable nature photographer, I eagerly embrace alternatives to seize scenes of sunrises and sunsets, and the moon. Final night time, I discovered a pleasant spot for documenting the rising moon amid the Belt of Venus. Here’s what I noticed!” Beautiful, Cissy. Thanks!

Available now! 2023 EarthSky lunar calendar. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar showing phases of the moon every night of the year! Makes a great gift.

What to search for to see Earth’s shadow

The shadow is a deep blue-grey, and it’s darker than the blue of the twilight sky. The pink band above the shadow is the Belt of Venus.

The shadow of the Earth is huge. You may need to show your head this manner and that – alongside the arc of the horizon reverse the sun – to see the entire thing. And, simply so that you’ll acknowledge it extra simply, keep in mind that the shadow is curved, in precisely the identical approach that the entire Earth is curved.

And, as soon as you notice it, don’t return inside simply but. Wait awhile, and watch Earth’s shadow ascending or descending at precisely the identical charge that the sun is rising or setting on the other horizon.

Earth's shadow, belt of Venus, over clouds with trees in the foreground.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Most individuals image Iran as mountains and deserts, however there are nice forested areas, too, often called jungles. Mohsen Salehi captured this picture on October 17, 2019, within the Alimastan jungle in Iran’s Chelav Rural District. Recognized for its surroundings and nicknamed ‘Iran Inexperienced Gold,’ the world attracts nature photographers. Mohsen wrote: “Earth’s shadow and Belt of Venus over an ocean of cloud.” Thanks, Mohsen!
Diagram of sun, Earth and moon, showing Earth's shadow extending into space, falling on the moon.
A lunar eclipse takes place when the sun, Earth and full moon line up in space. The full moon passes by means of Earth’s shadow. Picture by way of Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain).

Our shadow is why we see lunar eclipses

Earth’s shadow extends to this point into space that it will probably contact the moon. That’s what a lunar eclipse is. It’s the moon inside Earth’s shadow.

When the sun, the Earth and the moon align in space (practically or completely), with the Earth between the sun and moon, then Earth’s shadow falls on the moon’s face. That’s when folks on Earth see the shadow step by step flip a brilliant full moon darkish in a lunar eclipse.

As seen from Earth’s floor, there are usually two or extra lunar eclipses yearly. Some are total, some are partial, some are a refined type of eclipse often called penumbral.

Throughout a lunar eclipse, a really small quantity of sunshine from the sun filters by means of Earth’s ambiance onto Earth’s shadow on the moon. It’s why – on the center a part of a total lunar eclipse – the shadow on the moon appears reddish.

Giant red-orange eclipsed moon over steep brushy hillside.
Eclipse guru Fred Espenak in Arizona – whose calculations of eclipses have been a mainstay of eclipse observing for many years – wrote of the January 31, 2018, total lunar eclipse: “What a beautiful total lunar eclipse! This was my thirtieth, and the first one I’ve seen the place the moon set throughout totality.” Picture by way of Fred Espenak/ www.EclipseWise.com. Used with permission.

The view from space

One other solution to get an consciousness of Earth’s shadow is solely to consider it as seen from space.

The picture beneath supplies a good looking international view of Earth at night time. It’s a composite picture, assembled from knowledge acquired by the Suomi Nationwide Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite over 9 days in April 2012 and 13 days in October 2012.

The darkish half is, in fact, Earth’s shadow.

Global view of Earth at night with patches of artificial light on dark side.
Picture by way of NASA.

Backside line: Search for Earth’s shadow in each the night and morning sky. It’s a blue-gray darkness within the path reverse the sun, darker than the twilight sky. The pink band above the shadow – within the east after sundown, or west earlier than daybreak – is the Belt of Venus.



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