Uploaded March 2010 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
facebook.com/ScienceReason ... Hubble's Universe Unfiltered (Episode 8): Goodnight Moon.
Here on Earth, the occasional alignments of the Sun and Moon with our planet are greeted with much fanfare. Solar and lunar eclipses are often spectacular sights. However, our solar system undergoes many other more subtle alignments that come under the general name of occultations.
From Earth's ever-changing viewpoint, planets can be occulted by our Moon and other moons can be occulted by their planets. Consider the chances for such occultations on Jupiter, which has four of the seven large moons in the solar system.
In this episode, we examine Hubble's observations of these otherworldly and somewhat poetic events.
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Notes
- Eclipses of the Sun can be seen from some point on Earth about every 6 months. Total solar eclipses occur, on average, about once every 18 months. The next total solar eclipse is on July 22, 2009, and is visible in India, through China, and across the southwest Pacific Ocean. A great place to get dates, maps, and other info about solar and lunar eclipses is the NASA Eclipse Web Site
- The similar apparent size on the sky of our Moon and the Sun does not occur for any of the other large moons of the solar system. For Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, the Sun is much farther away, and therefore much smaller in their skies. The large moons are similar in size to our Moon, though their orbital distances can be up to five times larger. Still, the combination of sizes and distances always produces moons that are much larger in the sky than the Sun. The closest is Callisto, which appears about 1.5 times the size of the Sun from Jupiter's view. The amazing views of the solar corona we get during total eclipses are a unique treat for our planet.
- In addition to the image from Bernd Nies used in the video podcast, I found several other very nice images of the Moon occulting Saturn. For example, here are two others by DJLand Job Gehenia
- Hubble has also seen occultations on Saturn. It is interesting that while Jupiter has four large moons, the rest of its moons are rather small. Not so with Saturn. Saturn has one large moon, Titan, and several medium-sized moons as well. These medium-sized moons cast shadows that Hubble can see, setting up this opportunity for an observation of four shadows on Saturn. Another cool observation occurred when Saturn's rings were edge-on to the Sun, and Hubble observed moon shadows across Saturn's rings.
• hubblesite.org
.
facebook.com/ScienceReason ... Hubble's Universe Unfiltered (Episode 8): Goodnight Moon.
Here on Earth, the occasional alignments of the Sun and Moon with our planet are greeted with much fanfare. Solar and lunar eclipses are often spectacular sights. However, our solar system undergoes many other more subtle alignments that come under the general name of occultations.
From Earth's ever-changing viewpoint, planets can be occulted by our Moon and other moons can be occulted by their planets. Consider the chances for such occultations on Jupiter, which has four of the seven large moons in the solar system.
In this episode, we examine Hubble's observations of these otherworldly and somewhat poetic events.
---
Please SUBSCRIBE to Science & Reason:
• youtube.com/Best0fScience
• youtube.com/ScienceTV
• youtube.com/FFreeThinker
• youtube.com/RationalHumanism
---
Notes
- Eclipses of the Sun can be seen from some point on Earth about every 6 months. Total solar eclipses occur, on average, about once every 18 months. The next total solar eclipse is on July 22, 2009, and is visible in India, through China, and across the southwest Pacific Ocean. A great place to get dates, maps, and other info about solar and lunar eclipses is the NASA Eclipse Web Site
- The similar apparent size on the sky of our Moon and the Sun does not occur for any of the other large moons of the solar system. For Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, the Sun is much farther away, and therefore much smaller in their skies. The large moons are similar in size to our Moon, though their orbital distances can be up to five times larger. Still, the combination of sizes and distances always produces moons that are much larger in the sky than the Sun. The closest is Callisto, which appears about 1.5 times the size of the Sun from Jupiter's view. The amazing views of the solar corona we get during total eclipses are a unique treat for our planet.
- In addition to the image from Bernd Nies used in the video podcast, I found several other very nice images of the Moon occulting Saturn. For example, here are two others by DJLand Job Gehenia
- Hubble has also seen occultations on Saturn. It is interesting that while Jupiter has four large moons, the rest of its moons are rather small. Not so with Saturn. Saturn has one large moon, Titan, and several medium-sized moons as well. These medium-sized moons cast shadows that Hubble can see, setting up this opportunity for an observation of four shadows on Saturn. Another cool observation occurred when Saturn's rings were edge-on to the Sun, and Hubble observed moon shadows across Saturn's rings.
• hubblesite.org
.
![NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 3/2010]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sqYS7W-kgL8/mqdefault.jpg "NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 3/2010]
http://facebook.com/ScienceReason ... NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 3/2010].
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► Eclipse over the Temple of Poseidon
The Moon moved to partly block the Sun for a few minutes last week as a partial solar eclipse became momentarily visible across part of planet Earth. In the above single exposure image, meticulous planning enabled careful photographers to capture the partially eclipsed Sun well posed just above the ancient ruins of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, Greece.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100118.html
► Dust Sculptures in the Rosette Nebula
Noted for the common beauty of its overall shape, parts of the Rosette Nebula, also known as NGC 2237, show beauty even when viewed up close. Visible above are globules of dark dust and gas that are slowly being eroded away by the energetic light and winds by nearby massive stars. Left alone long enough, the molecular-cloud globules would likely form stars and planets. The Rosette Nebula spans about 50 light-years across and lies about 4,500 light-years away.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091202.html
► Watch Jupiter Rotate
What would it be like to coast by Jupiter and watch it rotate? This was just the experience of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approached and flew by Jupiter. Visible above in the extensive atmosphere of the Solar Systems largest planet are bands and belts of light and dark clouds, as well as giant rotating storm systems seen as ovals. The robotic New Horizons spacecraft continues to speed toward the outer Solar System and has recently passed the halfway point between Earth and Pluto.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
► NGC 6992: Filaments of the Veil Nebula
Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 7,500 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the dawn of recorded history. Today, the resulting supernova remnant has faded.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091201.html
► Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
They might look like trees on Mars, but theyre not. Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost. The image was taken near the North Pole of Mars. At that time, dark sand on the interior of Martian sand dunes became more and more visible as the spring Sun melted the lighter carbon dioxide ice. When occurring near the top of a dune, dark sand may cascade down the dune leaving dark surface streaks streaks that might appear at first to be trees standing in front of the lighter regions, but cast no shadows.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100119.html
► Eclipses in the Shade
Eclipses are everywhere in this shady scene. The picture was taken on the Indian Ocean atoll island of Ellaidhoo, Maldives, in January 2010, during the longest annular solar eclipse for the next 1,000 years. Tall palm trees provided the shade. Their many crossed leaves created gaps that acted like pinhole cameras, scattering recognizable eclipse images across the white sands of a tropical garden near the beach. From this idyllic location near the centerline of the Moons shadow track, the ring of fire or annular phase of the eclipse lasted about 10 minutes and 55 seconds.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100123.html
► Dust and the NGC 7771 Group
Some 200 million light-years distant toward the constellation Pegasus, NGC 7771 is the large, edge-on spiral near center, about 75,000 light-years across, with two smaller galaxies just below it. Large spiral NGC 7769 is seen face-on to the right. Galaxies of the NGC 7771 group are interacting, making repeated close passages that will ultimately result in galaxy-galaxy mergers on a cosmic timescale.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100121.html
► Millennium Annular Solar Eclipse
The Moons shadow raced across planet Earth on January 15. Observers within the central shadow track were able to witness an annular solar eclipse as the Moons apparent size was too small to completely cover the Sun. A visually dramatic ring of fire, the annular phase lasted up to 11 minutes and 8 seconds depending on location, the longest annular solar eclipse for the next 1,000 years.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100122.html
► Himalayan Skyscape
Capella, alpha star of the constellation Auriga, rises over Mt. Everest in this panoramic view of the top of the world at night.
• http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091205.html
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