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Moon puts on show

Last lunar eclipse of year

North Americans and other people around the world got to see the final lunar eclipse of the year Wednesday evening. In this sequence of photos observed from left to right, the moon emerges from Earth's shadow. These photos were taken from Santa Fe at 10:12 p.m., and at 10:22, 10:31 and 10:50 p.m., respectively. The eclipse began at 7:14 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time Wednesday and the moon fully exited Earth's shadow at 10:54 p.m. According to NASA, an eclipse of the moon can only take place at full moon, and only if the moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow, or penumbra, is a zone where Earth blocks some, but not all, of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow, or umbra, is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon. If the moon passes through only part on the umbra, a partial eclipse is seen. However, if the entire moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the moon occurs. The next total lunar eclipse visible in New Mexico will be March 3, 2007; the next partial lunar eclipse will be Oct. 17, 2005. For more information on the lunar eclipse, go to http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2004Oct28/TLE2004Oct28.html online. Photos by LeRoy N. Sanchez, Public Affairs

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