| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
NASA’s SDO Shows Moon Transiting the Sun
Provided by Karen C. Fox, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
On Nov. 22, 2014 from 5:29 to 6:04 p.m. EST., the moon partially obscured the view of the sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. This phenomenon, which is called a lunar transit, could only be seen from SDO’s point of view.
In 2014, SDO captured four such transits — including its longest ever recorded, which occurred on Jan. 30, and lasted two and a half hours.
SDO imagery during a lunar transit always shows a crisp horizon on the moon — a reflection of the fact that the moon has no atmosphere around it to distort the light from the sun. The horizon is so clear in these images that mountains and valleys in the terrain can be seen.
More lunar transits for SDO in 2014:
> Jan 30: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasas-sdo-sees-lunar-transit/
> July 28: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/sdo-observes-a-lunar-transit/
> Sept 25: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/sdo-sees-an-autumnal-lunar-transit/
—–
Follow redOrbit on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
redOrbit.com
offers Science, Space, Technology, Health news, videos, images and
reference information. For the latest science news, space news,
technology news, health news visit redOrbit.com frequently. Learn
something new every day.”
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113287093/moon-transiting-the-sun-112514/
