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SPIRIT'S UNCERTAIN
FUTURE: NASA's Mars rover Spirit is about
to mark six years of Red Planet exploration. However, the
upcoming Martian winter could end the roving career of the
beloved, scrappy robot: full
story.
ORANGE BLUE MOON:
Some people insist that last night's full
moon was not
Blue. They're right. It was orange:
"This was, hands down, the most spectacular
moonrise I have ever seen--an orange Blue
moon!" says photographer Doug Zubenel of Kansas.
Orange moons are run-of-the-mill atmospheric
optics. Earth's atmosphere acts as a dirty lens, distorting
and reddening the Moon whenever it hangs too close to the
horizon. Orange moons can be seen on most nights if you know
when to look. Orange Blue moons, on the other hand,
are a little more unusual. They come along once every 2.7
years, on average. Next up: August 31, 2012. Mark your calendar
and, meanwhile, browse the links below.
more Orange Blue Moon shots:
from
Darrell Oake of Dartmouth NS Canada; from
Stephen O'Meara of Volcano, Hawaii; from
Konstantinos Christodoulopoulos of Almyri Beach, Korinthos,
Greece; from
P. Nikolakakos of Sparta, Greece;
BLUE MOON ECLIPSE:
Blue moons--rare. Blue moons on New Year's Eve--really rare.
A lunar eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve--well, that's
just ridiculous.
Yet that's exactly what happened yesterday in Europe, Asia,
Africa and parts of Alaska. The Blue moon on New Year's Eve
passed through the outskirts of Earth's shadow, producing
this 8% lunar eclipse:
"The skies over Alaska were crystal-clear Thursday morning,
affording onlookers a nice view of the eclipse of the Blue
moon," says photographer Dave Parkhurst on the Knik Arm
of the Cook Inlet. "It was a nice way to start the last
day of the year."
For the record, the average annual rate of blue Moons is
0.37 per year. The rate of Blue moons on New Year's Eve is
0.05 per year. The rate of lunar eclipses of Blue moons on
New Year's Eve is 0.01 per year. Click on the link below to
view a very rare gallery:
Blue
Moon Eclipse Gallery
[Science@NASA: Blue
Moon on New Year's Eve]
December
Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Decembers: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2005, 2001,
2000]
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