The
partial lunar eclipse of August 16, 2008 is captured in an image by Gianluca
Masi and Valentina Romeo of the Virtual Telescope Project, Rome, Italy.
A
lunar
eclipse usually takes place two weeks before or after a solar eclipse,
because the moon travels halfway around its orbit in that time and forms
another almost-straight line with the Earth and sun. Earth's shadow slides
across the moon during a lunar eclipse period.
The
half-shadowed moon in this image still reflects a halo of light through clouds
on the night of August 16. Observers in Europe, Africa and Asia had the
best view, while North America largely missed the show.
— G. Masi and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: G. Masi and V.
Romeo/Virtual Telescope/Bellatrix Astronomy Observatory
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