“ripe peach” or “ruby” in a small village south of Toulouse, amateur astronomers have spent hours behind their telescopes and their glasses to admire the unique lunar eclipse the night of Sunday to Monday. On a gravel terrace in the town of Latrape (Haute-Garonne), some twenty people watching in the heart of the dazzling night of the full moon disc above the horizon where the reliefs of the Pyrenees loose. “The Moon spends most of the time above and below the shadow of the Earth. Tonight she will stack inside, “explains Jacques Sanchez, president of the association Pleiades, which manages the small observatory located 45 kilometers from Toulouse.
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In addition to this eclipse, “we have a super moon, that is to say, it is located at perigee, closest to Earth. It was not until 2033 to find the same configuration, “says the sexagenarian, which specifies that the satellite’s diameter of the Earth is greater than 14% compared to the minimum of its cycle. Between two cafes, beneath white domes or face computers, it follows the event in conjunction with Quebec clubs in Montreal and Laval, who will take simultaneous pictures of the eclipse visible in the Americas in the Middle East. “The shadow of the Earth begins to bite the moon, she will nibble” comments Hugues Alexander, also a member of the association. Around 3:00, the darkness begins indeed to invade the seas and craters on the surface the Moon, gradually distorting the brilliant star.
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WATCH the lunar eclipse from Toulouse:
Copper Globe
Standing near a 1.20m telescope, binoculars around his neck, Christophe Beef, craftsman in the building 41 years, observed the moon darkening. Arriving in astronomy by the interest of one of his daughters, he took a day off to observe what “exceptional celestial spectacle.” As the light withdraws, the Moon shade of red in the window of Julien Lecuyer. “It’s the Sun’s rays refracted by the atmosphere of the Earth,” said the employee in aeronautics, astronomy enthusiast for 20 years.
Soon, the Moon is not that coppery globe lined with a bright rim, hanging among the stars of the constellation of Pisces, previously obscured by the light of the full moon. “If I were the government, I would have declared Monday holiday to enjoy this marvel,” smiles Dominique Riva, a fan of 49 years came from Toulouse.
“Art of patience”
“There are few people who look up to the sky. A night like this, there should be 200 people, it is exceptional, worth hours and hours of physical science “is she enthusiasm. “It’s magical to imagine in space, the Sun, Earth, and sounds spot aligned, the moon. We feel very small, it puts things in place, “she adds. Some see a “ripe peach,” others a “ruby”, others compare it to a “pearl”. For more than an hour, the Moon is transformed
“Eclipses never have the same color, it depends on the density and quality of the atmosphere. For example, if there is a volcanic eruption, the dust particles in the atmosphere produce a different color on the Moon, “says Jacques Sanchez. In the morning, the sun finally gradually resume by an ashy hue, while the cold begins to enter the group. “Astronomy is a great art of patience” had earlier slipped laughing Hughes Alexander.
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