CHAPTER 9
LUNAR ECLIPSES
&
LUNAR TRANSIENT PHENOMENA
The Moon, upon occasions, passes through the earths shadow and this is called an umbra lunar eclipse. It's during this time period that the full Moon is cast into darkness in a matter of a few hours. Many studies have been done on the Moon during these periods. What peaked my interest about possible lunar transient phenomena (L.T.P.) during eclipses was the infrared studies conducted during totality. These reports are published in Sky & Telescope magazine. The article is Hot Spots on the Moon, June 1966, by John M. Saari and Richard W. Shorthill. The second report is called Infrared Images of the Eclipsed Moon, October 1968, by Graham R. Hunt and John W. Salisbury. Both of these articles are excellent references on the thermal properties of the Moon during lunar eclipses.
It occurred to me that during the period of a lunar eclipse the prospects for detecting a lunar transient phenomena would be good if such an event was to be taking place at that time. It is also possible that due to the extreme temperature drop that takes place on the Moon surface as it plunges into the Earth shadow, might produce the conditions needed for L.T.P. to take place. I have been monitoring lunar eclipses for years in hopes of capturing such an event.
The history books reflect numerous accounts of unusual phenomena being reported on the Moon during lunar eclipses.
The information presented in this table represent data taken from Lunar Transient Phenomena Catalog July 1978 NSSDC/WDC-A-R&S 78-03. The catalog was published by National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)/World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites (WDC-A-R&S, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771. This catalog covers time periods from 500 AD to 28 May 1977, and was authored by Winifred S. Cameron.
|
DATE |
DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENA |
|
08/06/1769 |
Bright light during eclipse. |
|
03/18/1783 |
Moving glows around middle of disk during lunar eclipse. |
|
10/22/1790 |
During eclipse (mid eclipse) saw at least 150 white spots. |
|
03/19/1848 |
Luminous points seen during eclipse (confirmed). |
|
03/19/1848 |
During eclipse, rapid changes in red color (confirmed). |
|
06/12/1862 |
During eclipse on west side dark brick red and something seem to oscillate before it. At mid-eclipse on south side a very small meniscus was seen nearly the color of the un eclipse Moon. |
|
02/27/1877 |
Flickering light on surface during eclipse. |
|
08/23/1877 |
Lunar eclipse unusual spectrum with strong absorption in yellow. Two patches of crimson light of short duration (confirmed). |
|
0/0/1879 |
Saw a large portion of the Moon covered with dark shadow as dark as earth shadow (confirmed). |
|
12/05/1881 |
Aristarchus during eclipse was a bright white spot in a coppery disk and continued so. |
|
10/04/1894 |
Crater Tycho like a star of 2nd magnitude. |
|
10/04/1894 |
Crater Tycho central peaks were visible as brilliant points, with slight red aureoles. |
|
05/23/1891 |
Crater Aristarchus and vicinity 1/2 hour before totality ended. Region of crater and just north of if became conspicuous increased in brightness from then on. |
|
03/11/1895 |
Crater Aristarchus was glowing with brilliance never before seen. Attracted every ones attention. Extended its radiance to a neighbor crater (tail to Herodotus). All through totality , at following eclipse was inconspicuous. |
|
01/08/1898 |
Tycho region, mid eclipse shadow so dense details of surface disappeared except for bright ray south by southwest was clearly visible. Unusual for that ray to remain when usually the one toward Kepler and Aristarchus are the ones to stand out. |
|
07/03/1898 |
Proclus shown with reddish light in shadow 1/2 hour after mid-eclipse. |
|
12/27/1898 |
Crater Aristarchus shown brilliant in eclipse. |
|
12/27/1898 |
Crater Linne and E. Webb and Pickering suspected or was uncertain about change in size during eclipse. Also dark area east of Webb, Douglas measured Linne as enlarged by 0.5 for 30 minutes after it reentered sunlight (confirmed). |
|
11/25/1901 |
During eclipse at mid-eclipse a bright area seen on Moon. Another observer saw an object like a fiery comet leave the Moon. |
|
04/22/1902 |
Crater Aristarchus had bright luminescence during totality. |
|
10/17/1902 |
Dark band no color, across center of Moon during eclipse, Copernicus brighter than Tycho and Aristarchus was brightest of all. |
|
04/11/1903 |
Tycho or Aristarchus during eclipse bright extension of lunar rays in shadow for 30 minutes until mid-eclipse. |
|
08/04/1906 |
Aristarchus shown conspicuously during eclipse. |
|
11/17/1910 |
Crater Stofler was luminous point on Moon during eclipse. At mid-eclipse others saw meteor on Moon from widely separated locations. |
|
04/01/1912 |
Crater Tycho was visible like a bright spot standing in the slate gray shadow. Only Tycho seen in eclipse. |
|
03/22/1913 |
Aristarchus? During totality there remained visible to the northwest a red luminous point. Not much larger than the appearance of the planet Mars and of the same color. |
|
01/08/1917 |
Crater Dionysius point on rim shone like a star for some time after earth shadow. |
|
10/16/1921 |
Aristarchus, partial eclipse 94 observers noted at various points of the crater a brightness or phosphorescence in it. |
|
08/14/1924 |
Crater Herodotus showed weak luminescence at mid-eclipse. |
|
07/16/1924 |
Craters Grimaldi, Riccioli, linne, and Schickard. Photographs in lunar eclipse indicated a probable fading of Grimaldi floor a possible fading of south tip of Riccioli. Enlargement of halo around linne. But a unlikely darkening of Schickard. |
|
04/13/1949 |
Aristarchus star-like brilliant spot seen just after 3rd contact. |
|
10/07/1949 |
Crater Atlas changes in north part of crater, dark spot in eclipse in eclipse. In penumbra, became darker as shadow approached and sharply distinquishable. |
|
04/02/1950 |
Atlas two dark spots during penumbral eclipse phase of eclipse. Quickly darkened and became sharp in detail. |
|
09/26/1950 |
Aristarchus brightening and fading and brightening again during totality. Phosphorescent glow (confirmed). |
|
01/18/1954 |
Ocean of Procellarum and east Mare Fecunditatis in mid-eclipse spectrographic excess luminescence. |
|
01/19/1954 |
Mare Crisium three brilliant yellow spots between crater Picard and Peirce. Phosphorescence light distinguished early against gray green background of mare. Irregular intermittent did not perceive them all through eclipse, impression that area was less clear and lightly veiled. |
|
07/16/1954 |
Aristarchus activity noted in it and extension of Moon shadow on sky for 12 minutes during 17 phase of eclipses. |
|
07/16/1954 |
Aristarchus whole interior strong violet tint, violet tint in nimbus and V. A. just after eclipse three hours after leaving umbra. |
|
03/24/1959 |
During penumbra period of eclipse separate lights or points were sharply distinguishable possibly connected with transparency of penumbra. |
|
07/06/1963 |
Atlas two large spots not visible in penumbra after totality. |
|
12/30/1963 |
Red glow on northeast limb recorded in photograph of the eclipse. |
|
12/19/1964 |
North of Mare Nubium south of Copernicus photoelectric photometer readings of region of north edge of Mare Nubium and south of Copernicus showed strong anomalous enhancement of radiation during eclipse (confirmed). |
|
04/24/1967 |
Near Grimaldi during totality two luminescent spots started 20 minutes after beginning of totality. Location not certain because of dimness of umbra shadow and lunar feature. (Bright spot Sven Hedin) color was bluish rather than yellowish was magnitude 9. |
|
09/25/1969 |
Crater Ross during eclipse saw brilliant points for 30 minutes. |
My research program is the systematic search for lunar transient phenomena (L.T.P.) during partial and total eclipses. The system I use is four fold consisting of visual, photographic, video, and CCD imaging. The probability of and L.T.P. taking place on the Moon during an eclipse is small but when examining the historical data above, phenomena does take place. For the results of my search go to My L.T.P. Reports.
.
NASA SURVEYOR III
IMAGE OF LUNAR ECLIPSE
The above image shows the Earth as it eclipses the sun for the Surveyor III spacecraft sitting on the Lunar surface. As you can see the illumination around the edge of the Earth disk is a factor on how the Moon appears to the observer watching from earth. There have been a number of reports over the years of the shadow falling upon the Moon disk to have strange and unusual shapes. This was at first thought by astronomers of old to indicate irregular edge to the earths disk. This no doubt is a factor of the earth atmospheric conditions at the time of the eclipse and not the a physical feature on the Earth. Reason being the highest mountain only rises about 0.1% of the earth radius. This means the earth is too smooth to cast such irregular shadows.
UNUSUAL SHADOW APPEARANCES
The following are examples of unusual shadow appearance as recorded in the Lunar Source Book.
October 4,1884. An account from Belgian astronomer de Boe. "Briefly then, at the stage of the eclipse represented in the slightly exaggerated diagram the arc of the earth's shadow was quite decidedly peaked at a instead of being rigidly circular. Now, at the time of phase indicated, the Moon was on the horizon of the Cordilleras, while when she was half eclipsed she was similarly placed as regards part of the Pacific Ocean. At this time, however, all traces of the peaked appearance had absolutely vanished, and the periphery of the shadow was sensibly circular. Can the curious deformation figured have been the shadow of the Cordilleras, or had its origin in the form of the lunar surface?"
October 4, 1884. Earth's shadow on moon is deformed, peaking at a.
Drawing from Lunar Source Book
August 3, 1887. "At 9:30 P.M., local time, at Hamburg, a small cumulus cloud was observed a little distance below the moon, and the darkened part of the lunar surface was taken to be part of the cloud, from its upper edge being flattened. Ten minutes later the cloud had passed away but the flattened appearance on the moon remained, and it was evident that the earth's shadow was distorted, as seen in drawing. Several persons noted the peculiarity, which was visible until about 10:30 P.M. in a very clear sky."
August 3, 1887, strongly flattened shadow of the earth during eclipse.
Drawing from Lunar Source Book
A report from La Tour de Peilz, France. "Here the appearance was certainly unusual; at least I never saw anything like it. The shadow cast upon the moon (with a perfectly cloudless sky) was irregular and jagged. I at first thought it was a cloud, but on looking repeatedly at regular intervals, I continued to observe the same appearance; allowance being made for the progress of the eclipse." But at Loch Tay, Scotland, there was no distortion of the earth's shadow.
January 28, 1888. Dr Dyer called "attention to fact that about middle of the eclipse moon appeared to the naked eye as a fairly bright disc with a dark isosceles triangular shadow on it, having base to the north. That triangular patch on the moon's disc seems to have been noticed by others.
October 16, 1902. A very dark eclipse. S.J. Johnson stated that "after the moon was totally eclipsed a broad dusky belt appeared crossing the center with a dark ruddy patch above and another below this."
October 6, 1903, Greece. "The eclipse was indeed bright one, as the whole dark border of the moon was clearly visible......The border of the earth's shadow protruded from the illuminated disc into space around the moon."
January 29-30, 1953. "23:04 to 01:40 G.M.T. The commencement of the eclipse was not observed owing to almost stationary cloud covering the moon. During totality a small white patch of light of low brilliancy moved round the north pole of the moon until that phase came to an end at 00:30. From that time the white patch increased in area until the end of the eclipse at 01:40. During the phase the face of the moon appeared to be colored in bands of blue, green, yellow and orange as in sketch, and stars were visible with the naked eye within 2 or 3 degrees of the moon"
January 29, 1953. Colored bands on the eclipsed moon.
Drawing from Lunar Source Book
July 6, 1963. "Between 20:35and 23:00 GMT a partial eclipse of the moon was observed. At maximum eclipse when three quarters of the moon was in shadow, it its surface still remained visible, and fingers of light were seen illuminating the upper section which was in shadow, the appearance being shown in drawing.
July 6,1963. Radiating fingers of light recorded during the partial eclipse of Moon.
Drawing from Lunar Source Book
The color brightness of the Moon due to earth atmospheric conditions is called the Danjon Scale. Name after the French astronomer name Andre Danjon. who established the scale.
DANJON SCALE
| L=0 | Very dark eclipse, Moon almost invisible, especially in mid-totality |
| L=1 | Dark eclipse, gray or brownish coloration; details distinquishable only with difficulty. |
| L=2 | Deep red or rust-colored eclipse, with a very dark central part in the umbra and the outer rim of the umbra relatively bright. |
| L=3 | Brick-red eclipse, usually with a bright or yellow rim to the umbra. |
| L=4 | Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse, with bluish, very bright umbral rim. |
The following internet site offers extensive information on upcoming eclipses.