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Posted on 02/10/2008 4:49:38 PM PST by decimon
On the night of Feb. 20, the full moon will pass into Earth's shadow in an event that will be visible across all of the United States and Canada.
The total lunar eclipse will be made even more striking by the presence of the nearby planet Saturn and the bright bluish star, Regulus.
Eclipses in the distant past often terrified viewers who took them as evil omens. Certain lunar eclipses had an overwhelming effect on historic events. One of the most famous examples is the trick pulled by Christopher Columbus.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Not quite GGG ping.
It might have saved Columbus that time, but Columbus was merely the public announcement that Spain (and several other Euro kingdoms) was already in the New World.
Good thing it wasn’t cloudy that night.
The more I learn about Columbus, the less I like him. I was happier when all I knew about him was that he discovered America.
Damned historians, and their big mouths.
Probably not the nicest fellow ever. But then, there may not have been too many nice fellows back when life was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Always be certain that the information is coming from a true historian and is not the interpretation of a revisionist historian whose goal is to turn you against people who should be revered.
I’m not saying that is the case here. But don’t ever doubt the desire of the Left to turn everyone against their past if it is not Marxist in some way, shape, or form.
Before his death, Regiomontanus published an almanac containing astronomical tables covering the years 1475-1506. Regiomontanus' almanac turned out to be of great value, for his astronomical tables provided detailed information about the sun, moon and planets, as well as the more important stars and constellations by which to navigate. After it was published, no sailor dared set out without a copy. With its help, explorers were able to leave their customary routes and venture out into the unknown seas in search of new frontiers.
Columbus, of course, had a copy of the Almanac with him when he was stranded on Jamaica. And he soon discovered from studying its tables that on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 29, 1504, a total eclipse of the moon would take place soon after the time of moonrise.
Would a lunar eclipse in Europe be visible in Jamaica?
btt
From the article, and the part you quoted, I think the almanac was usable in more than Europe. But then, I thought Regiomontanus was a football player so what do I know?
The almanac was useful to (and used by) seafarers, so one can fairly conclude it was not restricted only to lunar eclipses visible in Europe.
I think eclipses generally track a path across the surface of the earth as it turns on its axis. So some eclipses would be visible in both places - depending on time of year and [maybe] phase of moon.
Kepler would know.
The more I learn about Columbus, the less I like him.
There is much to admire about his courage and his place in history, as for many of the explorers and pioneers.
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No Kepler here, but....
Total lunar eclpses occur precisely at Full Moon when the moon is directly opposite the Sun, and anyone who can see the moon at the time (half the earth) could witness this kind of eclipse.
An eclipse track occurs during a Solar eclipse where the moon’s shadow hits the earth’s surface, and those who can see this type is determined by the path of this typically narrow band as the earth rotates.
I pulled up Skymap and here’s what I got:
Site information
Latitude: 18° 0’ 0” N
Longitude: 77° 0’ 0” W
Height above sea level: 10 metres
Time zone: 5h behind UT
Visibility
The eclipse is partially visible from this location.
Circumstances of the Eclipse
Moon enters penumbra: 1504 Feb 29 16:48:50
Moon enters umbra: 1504 Feb 29 17:57:03
Start of totality: 1504 Feb 29 19:15:50
Maximum eclipse: 1504 Feb 29 19:40:19
End of totality: 1504 Feb 29 20:04:44
Moon leaves umbra: 1504 Feb 29 21:23:30
Moon leaves penumbra: 1504 Feb 29 22:31:51
“There is much to admire about his courage and his place in history,..”
True, but the stories of his misdeeds take so much of the shine off.
But, to keep it in perspective, he was a creature of his time.
I had heard that this was folklore, but now it sounds like it’s pretty much verified history. Never heard of this guy Regiomontanus.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Regiomon.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regiomontanus
Good research. Thanks. I had no idea how to check that out.
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