My favorite thing in the night sky appears on Aug. 28 — and it proves Earth is a sphere
We'll soon get a chance to see a giant curved shadow in space move slowly across the moon during a very deep partial lunar eclipse. There are few more awesome or enlightening sights.
What's your favorite celestial spectacle? It might be the Pleiades, a dazzling cluster shining throughout winter in the Northern Hemisphere, or perhaps the Milky Way arching across the summer sky. For me, my favorite celestial phenomenon is us and, more specifically, our shadow. This is only visible during a partial lunar eclipse, and one is approaching soon.
On the night of August 27-28, a particularly deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible across Europe and North America. During this event, Earth's shadow will cast itself onto the lunar surface in a remarkable display that lasts for precisely 3 hours, 18 minutes and 5 seconds. As the moon traverses Earth's shadow, we witness the curved edge of our planet's shadow projected onto the lunar surface, a visual proof that Earth is indeed a sphere.
Written by urgent.news from Space.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
