Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2017 September 22
Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Bueter (Nightwise.org)
Explanation: Today is the September equinox. Heading south, the Sun's path through the sky will cross the celestial equator at 20:02 UT. Of course the equinox date results in (mostly) equal night and day all over planet Earth. But on August 21 the Sun's path through the sky found a little extra-night for some. Made with a drink can pinhole camera and light-sensitive paper, this creative solargraph follows the Sun's path on that date. An all-day exposure, it traces the Sun's arc still rising high in northern skies, aligned with a panoramic snapshot of the local landscape at the bottom. The gap in the arc represents the duration of the partial and total phases of the solar eclipse in clear skies over Lowman, Idaho, USA. There, the extra-night (totality) lasted for about 2 minutes. The broad gap in the Sun's arc also covers the loss of sunlight during the more extended partial eclipse phases.
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
This is an automated email. If you notice any problems, just send me a note at gtracy@gmail.com. You can add and remove email addresses to this distribution list here, http://apodemail.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment