Latest Tony Phillips Stories

Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Science@NASA This is a personal eye-witness account of the Nov. 14th solar eclipse by Science@NASA production editor Tony Phillips. Astrophysicist and legendary eclipse chaser Fred Espenak has a rating scheme for natural wonders. "On a scale of 1 to 10," he says, "total eclipses are a million." Apparently, this is true even when the eclipse is almost completely clouded out. Last week, I experienced such an eclipse on Four Mile Beach outside the resort...

Everyone knows that "the moon on the breast of new-fallen snow gives the luster of mid-day to objects below." That is, except during a lunar eclipse.See for yourself on Dec. 21st, the first day of northern winter, when the full Moon passes almost dead-center through Earth's shadow. For 72 minutes of eerie totality, an amber light will play across the snows of North America, throwing landscapes into an unusual state of ruddy shadow.The eclipse begins on Tuesday morning, Dec. 21st, at...