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 | Today Programme Report - Text Only Version 91热爆 Radio 4 |
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| Tuesday 4th May, 2004 Total lunar eclipse聽 The Moon will turn blood red this evening because of a total lunar eclipse, a fairly common, but often beautiful event. If we're lucky, we should be able to see it clearly from the UK. A聽total lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon move exactly into line with each other, with the Moon sitting in the earth's shadow. The Moon takes on a striking red colour during a lunar eclipse because the Earth's shadow is not completely dark - some rays of sunlight pass through the Earth's atmosphere, much like way the sky turns red at sunset, and reflect off the Moon's surface. The lunar eclipse is a fairly common occurrence - there will be two of them this year. In times gone by some peoples attached a mystical meaning to the lunar eclipse, believing that the Moon was being devoured, and performed rituals to drive away the monster they believed to be responsible. Weather permitting, tonight's lunar eclipse聽should be visible from the UK at around聽9pm, looking towards the South East, fairly low in the sky. According to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the Moon will already be partially in eclipse when it appears over the horizon tonight. The Moon will begin to come out of its state of total eclipse just after 10pm, growing steadily brighter. No special equipment is required to view the lunar eclipse and unlike a solar eclipse, it is safe to look at a lunar eclipse directly. Send us your photographs If you manage to see the eclipse, we'd like you to photograph it and send us your pictures. Email your snaps to today@bbc.co.uk. Don't forget to tell us from where you photographed it. We will aim to publish a selection of your photos here. The 91热爆 is not responsible for external websites |
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