humble3d Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Solar eclipse, Supermoon, Spring equinox Friday... ... will see three rare celestial events... Media via the link below... Eclipses have long been feared as bad omens, but the equinox is celebrated as a time of renewal As the eclipse plunges the UK and other places into darkness this Friday, two other rare if less spectacular celestial events will be taking place, too: a Supermoon and the Spring equinox. A Supermoon, or perigee moon, happens when the full or new moon does its closest fly-by of the Earth, making it look bigger than it normally does. And the spring equinox refers to the time of the year when the day and night are of equal duration, mid-way between the longest and shortest days. The solar eclipse refers to a phenomenon where the sun and moon line up, so that the latter obscures the former. And while it won’t be affected by the two other events, it is rare that the three events happen even individually. Supermoon Most of the time, there are between three and six Supermoons a year. There is set to be six in 2015, two of which have already happened. The next will take place on March 20, the day of the eclipse, and the others will come in August, September and October. Eclipses can only happen at new moon, when the moon appears is entirely in shadow. And the spectacular Supermoon images that are often spotted can only happen when the moon is full, since it can only be seen then. As a result, only the last three Supermoons of this year will be visible — because the moon is new rather than full on March 20, it won’t be seen. But it will be gliding past us closer than ever, and its shadow will be visible as it blocks out the sun on Friday morning. Spring equinox The equinox will also happen on March 20. While it won’t have any discernable, direct impact on how the solar eclipse looks, it will contribute to a rare collision of three unusual celestial events. On March 20, the Earth’s axis will be perpindecular to the sun’s rays — which only happens twice a year, at the two equinoxes. After that, it will start tipping over, making the days longer in the northern hemisphere. As such, the equinox has long been celebrated as a time of beginning and renewal, by a number of historic cultures, and is linked to Easter and Passover. The equinox will happen at the same time as a solar eclipse in 2053 and 2072, though it doesn’t always appear as close together as that. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/solar-eclipse-supermoon-spring-equinox-friday-will-see-three-rare-celestial-events-10111592.html UK solar eclipse 2015: How to safely take pictures of the sun on Friday http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/uk-solar-eclipse-2015-how-to-safely-take-pictures-of-the-sun-on-friday-10111252.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humble3d Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Related:Powerful space storm hits Earth NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -A geomagnetic storm that government scientists rate as severe hit the planet on Tuesday morning. The storm rated as a G4 on a NOAA scale, which tops out at G5. It's the strongest storm that's happened in the current solar cycle, which lasts about 11 years. The Space Weather Prediction Center says that the storm is from sun activity that started on March 15. Two magnetic eruptions occurred in quick succession. They combined into one larger eruption before intersecting the Earth's orbit on Tuesday. The storm arrived earlier (10 a.m. EDT) and was stronger than predicted. The storm could last 24-36 hours. It warned that there could be possible widespread voltage control problems at power systems and some protective systems could trip out key assets from the grid but that appeared to not be happening. "We are receiving no reports of abnormality or disconnects on the power grid," NOAA's Tom Burger said at a Tuesday afternoon press briefing. Spacecraft could also experience surface charging and tracking problems and corrections may be needed for orientation problems. It warned that satellite navigation systems could be affected for hours and low-frequency radio navigation disrupted. It also said that the aurora could be seen as far south as California because of the storm. Images on Twitter showed it was visible in the pre-dawn hours in Washington state. There were other reports of the aurora being seen in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Alaska. Widespread areas of Northern Europe were expected to see the aurora later Tuesday. NOAA scientists say that depending on how long it lasts and how intense the storm continued to be, states as far south as from Alabama to northern California on Tuesday night. A less severe storm hit Earth on January 7. That storm was classified as a G3. NOAA said that it has been about a decade since a G5 storm hit the planet. http://www.myfoxny.com/story/28540300/powerful-space-storm-hits-earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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