[FPSPACE] FW: [JAXA:0184] KAGUYA (SELENE) Successfully Captures Moving Images of the Earth at the Time of a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse using HDTV

[LARRY KLAES]

> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:35:24 +0900
> From: jaxapr at jaxa.jp
> Subject: [JAXA:0184] KAGUYA (SELENE) Successfully Captures Moving Images of the Earth at the Time of a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse using HDTV
> To: ljk4 at msn.com
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> *** JAXA MAIL SERVICE ***
> Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> KAGUYA (SELENE) Successfully Captures Moving Images of the Earth 
> at the Time of a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse using HDTV
> 
> February 18, 2009 (JST)
> Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
> Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)
> 
> The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japan 
> Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) successfully took moving images of the 
> precise Earth rise moment when the Earth looked like a diamond ring 
> using the onboard high definition camera (HDTV) of the lunar explorer 
> "KAGUYA" (SELENE) on February 10, 2009 (Japan Standard Time, all the 
> following dates and times are Japan Standard Time.) The moment came 
> when a penumbral lunar eclipse occurred and sunlight was covered by 
> the Earth. During that time, since the view of the Sun from the KAGUYA 
> was mostly covered by the Earth, the KAGUYA observed that the Earth 
> looked like a diamond ring. This is the first time that this 
> phenomenon was shot from the Moon.
> 
> The images were shot by the HDTV onboard the KAGUYA for space-use 
> developing by NHK. The moving images were received at JAXA and 
> processed at NHK.
> 
> * A penumbral lunar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the Sun, Earth 
> and Moon line up in tandem, hence the Moon is in the Earth's penumbra, 
> or, when you look from the Moon, the Sun is partially covered by the 
> Earth (partial eclipse.) During this phenomenon, the volume of 
> sunlight to the Moon decreases, and the Moon's surface looks darker 
> when you look at the Moon from the Earth. The KAGUYA, which circles 
> around the Moon on its polar orbit, can witness this phenomenon only 
> twice a year at most, thus it was very valuable to capture the moving 
> images of the phenomenon from the KAGUYA. 
> 
> The Earth by the HDTV (Tele-camera) during the penumbral lunar eclipse
> (480x270px)
> http://space.jaxa.jp/movie/20090218_kaguya_movie01_e.html
> 
> 
> Figure 1 Image of the Earth by the HDTV (Tele-camera) during the 
> penumbral lunar eclipse
> http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html#pict1
> 
> This still image was a cutout from the moving images taken by the 
> onboard HDTV (tele-camera) of the KAGUYA (SELENE) on February 10, 2009.
> The bright part on the lower right side is the Sun and the black area 
> surrounded by the thin light ring is the Earth. The red dotted line 
> shows the Moon's surface. Most of the Sun is covered by the Earth and 
> the Moon's surface.
> The contour of the Earth is shining in a ring shape because of the 
> atmosphere. It scatters in the atmosphere in the periphery of the 
> Earth, and a part of the sunlight reaches the Moon. The Earth's rim 
> looks like a blue ring from the Moon since it is thought that the 
> scattering sunlight with blue color light occurs easily because of the 
> Earth's atmosphere. 
> 
> 
> Figure 2 Sequence images of the Earth by the HDTV (Tele-camera) 
> during the penumbral lunar eclipse
> http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html#pict2
> 
> The KAGUYA captured the moving image of the Earth and the Sun 
> gradually rising from the Moon's surface. The above sequence of images 
> is a cutout from the moving image to show the rising process.
> The image on the far left is just after the Earth rise from the Moon's 
> surface. It took about 47 seconds to film from the left to the right 
> when the Sun came out from the Moon's surface and the diamond ring 
> appeared.
> 
> 
> Figure 3 Positions of the KAGUYA, Moon, Earth and Sun when images of 
> the Earth-rise during the penumbral lunar eclipse 
> http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html#pict3
> 
> 
> This page URL:
> http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html
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