Eclipsed Moon and Stars
Credit & Copyright: Johannes Schedler (Panther Observatory)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ima...0_schedler.jpg
Explanation: This dramatic image features a dark red Moon during a total lunar eclipse -- celestial
shadow play enjoyed by
many denizens of planet Earth last Saturday. Recorded near Wildon, Austria, the picture is a composite of two exposures; a relatively short exposure to feature the lunar surface and a longer exposure to capture background stars in the
constellation Leo. Completely immersed in Earth's cone-shaped shadow during the
total eclipse phase, the lunar surface is still illuminated by sunlight,
reddened and refracted into the dark shadow region by a dusty atmosphere. As a result,
familiar details of the Moon's nearside are easy to pick out, including the smooth lunar mare and the large ray
crater Tycho. In this telescopic view, the background stars are faint and most would be invisible to the naked eye.