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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
