APOD: 2008 March 1 - Mauna Kea Shadow Play (original) (raw)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2008 March 1

Explanation: Just opposite the setting Sun, the already-eclipsed Moon rose over the Hawaiian Islands on February 20. A view near the 14,000 foot peak of volcanicMauna Keaon the Big Island, apopular spotfor astronomers, offeredthis remarkable playof shadows and sunlight.With snowy cinder cones in the foreground, the Moon lies within theshadow cast by the mountain -- a shadow extending across a lower cloud deck and on through Earth's dense atmosphere. As the lunar eclipseis drawing to a close, the curved shadowof the limb of planet Earth itself can also be traced across the Moon's surface, some 400,000 kilometers away.