You can only see it once in your life! ＂Red Moon＂ meets Uranus, and millions of netizens watch and make wishes.
At 17: 09 on November 8, Beijing time, this year’s astronomical blockbuster-the deep "red moon" covered Uranus was staged on time. This astronomical phenomenon visible in the night hemisphere was screened in the circle of friends.
With the help of the largest popular science optical telescope in China, the dual-focus switchable one-meter telescope, the Shanghai Planetarium broadcasted this rare astronomical phenomenon live, attracting more than 1.7 million netizens to watch. Many people left messages on the live broadcast page and made wishes to the Red Moon.
Although the total lunar eclipse and the lunar eclipse of Uranus are not rare, their encounter has become a "once in a thousand years" astronomical spectacle, which can be described as "only once in a lifetime". Tonight, many citizens raised their mobile phones and cameras to take pictures of this beautiful sky. Some astronomy enthusiasts also set up telescopes in the open space to share clearer pictures with passers-by.
When the sun, the earth and the moon are in a straight line, the moon sometimes gets into the shadow of the earth, and an eclipse occurs. According to the different degrees of the moon’s penetration into the earth’s shadow, lunar eclipses can be divided into three types: partial eclipse, total eclipse and penumbral eclipse.
▲ Schematic diagram of the principle of total lunar eclipse (Source: Zhihu)
From the earth’s point of view, the original big and round moon is eclipsed by "nibbling" a little when it drills into the earth’s shadow, just like being swallowed up, so the eclipse is also commonly known as "Tiangou swallowing the moon".
Total lunar eclipse usually occurs once or twice a year, and only three times at most. Tonight’s total lunar eclipse is the second total lunar eclipse this year. The first total lunar eclipse this year occurred on May 16th, when China was in the daytime and missed observation. The first loss of the total lunar eclipse occurred at 17: 09 Beijing time, which coincided with the rising of the moon in the eastern part of China. Therefore, Shanghai residents can almost enjoy an almost complete total lunar eclipse, and most parts of China can see "the moon comes out with food".
▲ "Red Moon" at the stage of eating tonight (Tang Haiming/photo)
The process of total lunar eclipse can be divided into five stages: initial loss, eclipse, eclipse, light generation and last contact. Among them, the stage from eclipse to light generation is total eclipse, at this time, only some scattered sunlight is reflected on the moon surface, and the moon is bronzed, which is commonly known as the "red moon". What is rare is that the Shanghai residents enjoyed the "Red Moon" for an hour and 26 minutes: from 18: 16 to 18: 59, to 19: 42, and to 20: 49 in last contact.
What is even rarer is that tonight’s "Red Moon" also played hide-and-seek with Uranus-the moon covers Uranus. Usually, because the moon is too bright, Uranus is difficult to be observed when it passes behind the moon. These days, Uranus is eclipsing the sun, and the "red moon" is much dimmer than the bright moon. Therefore, through binoculars and small astronomical telescopes, it can be clearly seen that Uranus is blocked by the huge figure of the "red moon". However, when Uranus came out from behind the moon at 20: 08, it was already in the stage of light production and it was difficult to be seen clearly.
▲ "Red Moon" is about to cover Uranus (Xuan Xiao/photo)
▲ Uranus out of the moon (Guo Gang/photo)
▲ Astronomical enthusiasts set up small astronomical telescopes in the community to enjoy the "red moon" covering Uranus (photo courtesy of Guo Gang)
When will the next "Red Moon" meet Uranus unexpectedly? Shi Wei, director of the Network Science Department of the Shanghai Planetarium Exhibition and Education Center and deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Astronomical Society, said that the next time Shanghai encounters Uranus on the moon, it will wait until March 29, 2045, but it will happen during the day; The visible moon will cover Uranus until February 27, 2068. It is extremely rare for the moon to cover Uranus at the same time as the total lunar eclipse. The next "total lunar eclipse will cover Uranus" will appear on August 8, 4344.
▲ The live webcast of the total lunar eclipse at the Shanghai Planetarium attracted millions of netizens to watch (live screen shot of the Shanghai Planetarium)
Author: Xu Qimin
Editor: Xu Qimin
Editor in charge: Ren Quan
* The exclusive manuscript of Wenhui, please indicate the source.
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