[southnews] Blood red moon and satellite shoot down
 
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:51:24 -0600 (CST)


The Moon will turn an eerie shade of red for people in the western 
hemisphere late Wednesday and early Thursday, recreating the eclipse 
that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries

Meanwhile  the US navy will reportedly attempt to shoot down on Thursday 
(Friday AEDT) a free-falling hazardous spy satellite that threatens to 
hit Australia.

Australia and a handful of other nations have been alerted by the US to 
be on standby for falling debris from the highly classified satellite, 
because there is a minute possibility of the strike misfiring and debris 
falling on land rather than water.

Get ready for the eclipse that saved Columbus

AFP - Tuesday, February 19

PARIS (AFP) - - The Moon will turn an eerie shade of red for people in 
the western hemisphere late Wednesday and early Thursday, recreating the 
eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries

In a lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth and Moon are directly aligned and the 
Moon swings into the cone of shadow cast by the Earth.

But the Moon does not become invisible, as there is still residual light 
that is deflected towards it by our atmosphere. Most of this refracted 
light is in the red part of the spectrum and as a result the Moon, seen 
from Earth, turns a coppery, orange or even brownish hue.

Lunar eclipses have long been associated with superstitions and signs of 
ill omen, especially in battle.

The defeat of the Persian king Darius III by Alexander the Great in the 
Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC was foretold by soothsayers when the Moon 
turned blood-red a few days earlier.

And an eclipse is credited with saving the life of Christopher Columbus 
and his crew in 1504.

Stranded on the coast of Jamaica, the explorers were running out of food 
and faced with increasingly hostile local inhabitants who were refusing 
to provide them with any more supplies.

Columbus, looking at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German 
mathematician, realised that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on 
February 29, 1504.

He called the native leaders and warned them if they did not cooperate, 
he would make the Moon disappear from the sky the following night.

The warning, of course, came true, prompting the terrified people to beg 
Columbus to restore the Moon -- which he did, in return for as much food 
as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.

The Moon will be in total eclipse from 0301 GMT to 0351 GMT. This will 
be visible east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, as well as in 
all of Central and South America, West Africa and Western Europe. The 
zenith of totality is close to French Guiana.

It will be in partial eclipse from 0143 GMT to 0301 GMT, visible west of 
the Rockies and from the eastern Pacific, and from 0351 GMT to 0509 GMT, 
visible across the rest of Africa and Europe and much of South and West 
Asia.

Under a partial eclipse, Earth's shadow, or umbra, appears to take a 
"bite" out of the Moon.

The last total lunar eclipse took place on August 28 2007. The next will 
take place on December 21 2010.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon swings between the Earth and the Sun.

+ Further details: 
(http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2008.html); 
(http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=38834); and 
(http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/15357796.html).
__________________________________________________________

Rogue satellite to be shot down

February 19, 2008 - 5:37PM

Australia and other nations are on standby as the United States prepares 
to make its first attempt at shooting down an out-of-control spy 
satellite, possibly on Thursday.

CNN today reported that Thursday had been set for a US warship's first 
bid to bring the satellite down safely in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The crippled satellite is due to break into the Earth's atmosphere on 
March 6. Without intervention, it could crash onto land and spill its 
450kg load of toxic fuel.

A second attempt would be possible if the first misses, CNN said, citing 
military sources.

Pentagon officials were not immediately available for confirmation.

A US warship will fire a surface-to-air missile at the satellite at a 
specific point in its orbit to ensure any Earth-bound debris will splash 
into the ocean.

Australia and a number of other nations are on standby for falling debris.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that while 
there is no suggestion the satellite will land in Australia, the US 
cannot predict where it might come down if not destroyed by a missile.

"The Australian government has been advised formally by the US 
government that the president has authorised the US Department of 
Defence to attempt to shoot down an inoperable satellite," a DFAT 
spokesman said.

"There is no suggestion at this stage that the satellite will land in 
Australia, but it is too early to predict where it might come down if 
the US is not successful in destroying it in space.

"The US told us in advance of the public announcement and will no doubt 
keep us closely informed.

"The US has contacted several other countries and we appreciate their 
openness on this."

The shoot-down plan has drawn criticism from Russia, whose the defence 
ministry said in a statement it looked like a veiled weapons test and an 
"attempt to move the arms race into space".

Washington has denied seeking to cover up the satellite's technological 
secrets or to make a show of strength after China used a missile to 
shoot down an old weather satellite in January 2007.

AFP/AAP