Please visit great telugu world
Hi friends,I created a blog http://www.telugustreet.blogspot.com/ for the great man of Andhra Pradesh please look into it and forward to your friends. Let me know the feed back.
Let the world know the Greatest of Andhra Pradesh
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
HI Friends
HI Friends
Hi friends I started a new www.telugustreet.blogspot.com for Andhra Pradesh. This blog contains the biography of the Andhra Pradesh in India. I added few great persons bio data. Please update me if any new contains in this blog.
Hi friends I started a new www.telugustreet.blogspot.com for Andhra Pradesh. This blog contains the biography of the Andhra Pradesh in India. I added few great persons bio data. Please update me if any new contains in this blog.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Jagadam - Sound of youthful zing
You may have loved it or loathed it but you could not have ignored it. It had awesome music; it presented Allu Arjun in a whole new avatar; it was a big hit. Yes, I am talking about Arya which introduced Sukumar with a bang. Handling story, screenplay, dialogues and direction with such aplomb in a maiden venture is not an easy task and Sukumar scored it big in almost all these departments. His next movie Jagadam, coming after close to 3 years since Arya released, featuring Devadasu fame Ram and a newbie Isha, is keenly awaited.
Devi Sri Prasad aka Devi’s music for Arya was extra ordinary. His teaming up with Sukumar again for Jagadam naturally raises our expectations. Not only that, Devi is on a high with back to back hits in the form of Bommarillu and Rakhi and there is no excuse for him to disappoint us now. Well, with Jagadam, Devi proves that cutting back on quantity has definitely helped him in delivering quality music. Though Rakhi was a tad disappointing after a wonderful Bommarillu, he rises back to the occasion with Jagadam.
1. Violence In this opening number of the album, Chandrabose, while walking us through the movie’s theme, sums it up quite well like this - kaDupuki tinDi, kanTiki nidra avasaramainaTTE, gunDeki kodava vonti ki jagaDam vunDaali antE! He pens catchy lyrics and Devi makes every effort, both as a composer and singer, to add right emotion to this number. In fact he scores more points as the singer, coming up with not only a zesty but also a fiery rendition. Despite sounding like a song from one of Ram Gopal Varma’s underworld dramas, this one is worth a listen.
2. 5' 8" Once upon a time there lived Seenugaadu, who was 5 feet 8 inches, and Subbalakshmi who was 5 feet 4 inches. Both of them fell in love with each other. Once in love, they had all the time in the world to ponder if they were a perfect match for each other. What usually dawns upon people after marriage, happened to them while still in courtship. So, they decided to convince themselves, just like most married couples, with - inkem chestaam adjust avudaam, zindagi mottam sardukupodaam!
With a cowboy/country music kinda orchestration and catchy [agreed the word is clichéd but for the lack of a better word] lyrics, this is one of the cool numbers in recent times. The complex mix of confused ‘is-he/she-right-for-me?’ thoughts and ‘heck-I-care-less-I’ll-be-happy-nonetheless’ attitude is conveyed in an unpretentious manner both in words, by Chandrabose, and notes [read music]. Tippu, Priya and the chorus sing this one admirably.
3. 36-24-36 An out and out mass song and make no assumption about it (well, not that there could be any). Sahiti sets the premise at the very outset and sticks to it throughout. Double entendres, husky vocals, dappu beats – name it and this one has it all and much more. Mamata Mohandas sounds like a pleasant (the usage of this word for a mass song might shock you but yeah you read it right) replacement to overly high pitched Malathi. No surprises if her second song for Devi becomes a bigger hit than the first one (the title song of Rakhi). Another ‘Aa ante Amalapuram’, this one?
Though the original version itself has enormous potential to entice the crowds, there’s a remix version of this song for the remix-crazy/dance-floor junta.
4. Everybody ooru vaaDaa aaDadi aitE, moguDini nEnElERead the above line and you get an idea about the song. If that’s not enough, Chandrabose pens more such thoughts, which give a feeling that being a rowdy is super cool. But musically speaking, this number does not actually sound that cool. It’s fast paced, has high energy beats, sports Ranjit’s animated singing but nonetheless has a heard-before feel to it. So if your liking for a song has nothing to do with the fresh-o-meter rating, unlike me, then rock your body to this one.
5. Mu mu muddante Despite incomprehensible lyrics by Sahiti, this one is foot tapping. Devi uses yesteryear’s mu mu muddante cheda [Why? Perhaps the movie will explain, otherwise there is no rhyme or reason for it] and a small rap while also infusing a Middle Eastern feel to the orchestration. Raquib Alam’s spirited vocals are the life of this number. If I were to choose between this and Rahman’s Mayya Mayya [Guru], I’d choose this one for its better appealing tune even though the latter has superior orchestration. Of course, Sahiti’s lyrics are nowhere near Gulzar’s words but unless a creative lyricist in Telugu proves that such songs can be worded with coherent words, we’ll have to give it to Sahiti for writing words that blended with the tune even though they didn’t actually make much sense. But hey, that’s perhaps asking for too much from an item number in Telugu. [Gulzar’s chivalrously frolicking lyrics in recent item number’s like Kajra Re [Bunty Aur Babli] and Beedi [Omkara] are a treat to ears. Would a Telugu lyricist attribute such beauty to our item numbers, please?]
To cut a long story short, Jagadam bellows the sound of youthful zing. Chandrabose’s lyrics are catchy while Sahiti’s pen rarely tries to make an impact given that his songs are item numbers. Devi’s compositions in this album are not ever lasting material but they should top the charts and occupy air waves as long as the movie plays in theaters.
Jagadam is marketed by Supreme Audio
On a different note:The quality of music in Telugu, of late, hasn’t been that great and nothing quite prompted me to write more audio reviews since Sainikudu but have you listened to some recent Hindi albums? Try Just Married that has some awesome music by Pritam and beautiful poetry by Gulzar. Gudgudee [sung by Sunidhi Chauhan] and Jaagte Raho [sung by Sonu Nigam] are the picks of the album.
Devi Sri Prasad aka Devi’s music for Arya was extra ordinary. His teaming up with Sukumar again for Jagadam naturally raises our expectations. Not only that, Devi is on a high with back to back hits in the form of Bommarillu and Rakhi and there is no excuse for him to disappoint us now. Well, with Jagadam, Devi proves that cutting back on quantity has definitely helped him in delivering quality music. Though Rakhi was a tad disappointing after a wonderful Bommarillu, he rises back to the occasion with Jagadam.
1. Violence In this opening number of the album, Chandrabose, while walking us through the movie’s theme, sums it up quite well like this - kaDupuki tinDi, kanTiki nidra avasaramainaTTE, gunDeki kodava vonti ki jagaDam vunDaali antE! He pens catchy lyrics and Devi makes every effort, both as a composer and singer, to add right emotion to this number. In fact he scores more points as the singer, coming up with not only a zesty but also a fiery rendition. Despite sounding like a song from one of Ram Gopal Varma’s underworld dramas, this one is worth a listen.
2. 5' 8" Once upon a time there lived Seenugaadu, who was 5 feet 8 inches, and Subbalakshmi who was 5 feet 4 inches. Both of them fell in love with each other. Once in love, they had all the time in the world to ponder if they were a perfect match for each other. What usually dawns upon people after marriage, happened to them while still in courtship. So, they decided to convince themselves, just like most married couples, with - inkem chestaam adjust avudaam, zindagi mottam sardukupodaam!
With a cowboy/country music kinda orchestration and catchy [agreed the word is clichéd but for the lack of a better word] lyrics, this is one of the cool numbers in recent times. The complex mix of confused ‘is-he/she-right-for-me?’ thoughts and ‘heck-I-care-less-I’ll-be-happy-nonetheless’ attitude is conveyed in an unpretentious manner both in words, by Chandrabose, and notes [read music]. Tippu, Priya and the chorus sing this one admirably.
3. 36-24-36 An out and out mass song and make no assumption about it (well, not that there could be any). Sahiti sets the premise at the very outset and sticks to it throughout. Double entendres, husky vocals, dappu beats – name it and this one has it all and much more. Mamata Mohandas sounds like a pleasant (the usage of this word for a mass song might shock you but yeah you read it right) replacement to overly high pitched Malathi. No surprises if her second song for Devi becomes a bigger hit than the first one (the title song of Rakhi). Another ‘Aa ante Amalapuram’, this one?
Though the original version itself has enormous potential to entice the crowds, there’s a remix version of this song for the remix-crazy/dance-floor junta.
4. Everybody ooru vaaDaa aaDadi aitE, moguDini nEnElERead the above line and you get an idea about the song. If that’s not enough, Chandrabose pens more such thoughts, which give a feeling that being a rowdy is super cool. But musically speaking, this number does not actually sound that cool. It’s fast paced, has high energy beats, sports Ranjit’s animated singing but nonetheless has a heard-before feel to it. So if your liking for a song has nothing to do with the fresh-o-meter rating, unlike me, then rock your body to this one.
5. Mu mu muddante Despite incomprehensible lyrics by Sahiti, this one is foot tapping. Devi uses yesteryear’s mu mu muddante cheda [Why? Perhaps the movie will explain, otherwise there is no rhyme or reason for it] and a small rap while also infusing a Middle Eastern feel to the orchestration. Raquib Alam’s spirited vocals are the life of this number. If I were to choose between this and Rahman’s Mayya Mayya [Guru], I’d choose this one for its better appealing tune even though the latter has superior orchestration. Of course, Sahiti’s lyrics are nowhere near Gulzar’s words but unless a creative lyricist in Telugu proves that such songs can be worded with coherent words, we’ll have to give it to Sahiti for writing words that blended with the tune even though they didn’t actually make much sense. But hey, that’s perhaps asking for too much from an item number in Telugu. [Gulzar’s chivalrously frolicking lyrics in recent item number’s like Kajra Re [Bunty Aur Babli] and Beedi [Omkara] are a treat to ears. Would a Telugu lyricist attribute such beauty to our item numbers, please?]
To cut a long story short, Jagadam bellows the sound of youthful zing. Chandrabose’s lyrics are catchy while Sahiti’s pen rarely tries to make an impact given that his songs are item numbers. Devi’s compositions in this album are not ever lasting material but they should top the charts and occupy air waves as long as the movie plays in theaters.
Jagadam is marketed by Supreme Audio
On a different note:The quality of music in Telugu, of late, hasn’t been that great and nothing quite prompted me to write more audio reviews since Sainikudu but have you listened to some recent Hindi albums? Try Just Married that has some awesome music by Pritam and beautiful poetry by Gulzar. Gudgudee [sung by Sunidhi Chauhan] and Jaagte Raho [sung by Sonu Nigam] are the picks of the album.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Rasool's film in Manoranjan banner
Manoranjan Movies (USA) is going to produce a film in the direction of cinematographer turned director Rasool. A new comer Rohit is going to play main NRI lead role. Sada plays female lead. The supporting cast includes Murali Mohan, Brahmanandam and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam. MM Keeravani is scoring music for this film and he composed two songs already.
As the movie has USA backdrop, the production unit arranged visas to 20 cast and crewmembers from USA Consulate, Chennai. The unit of the film will be landing in USA on 10th of March. The USA production will start on 17th March and be completed by 30th April.
As the movie has USA backdrop, the production unit arranged visas to 20 cast and crewmembers from USA Consulate, Chennai. The unit of the film will be landing in USA on 10th of March. The USA production will start on 17th March and be completed by 30th April.
Shankar Dada Zindabad
Cast: Chiranjeevi & Srikanth
Crew:Dialogues: Paruchuri Brothers Music: Devi Sri Prasad Cinematography: Chota K NaiduArt: Ashok Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh Direction: Prabhudeva Producer: Gemini Film Circuit
Chiranjeevi is doing the Telugu remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai in Telugu as Shankar Dada Zindabad. Gemini Film Circuit that produced Shankar Dada MBBS is also producing this venture in the direction of Prabhudeva. Muhurat of this film was held at a function in Annapurna studios, Hyderabad.
Speaking on the occasion writer Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao said, “This is the season of sequels. Lage Raho Munnabhai is an out and out class film. We added mass elements in Telugu version without disturbing the mood of the film. The combination scenes of Chiranjeevi and Srikanth will be more in this film compared to the first part. Telugu proverbs literally translated in English were huge success in Shankar Dada MBBS, we will continue that stream by adding much more punch to it.”
Paruchuri Gopala Krishna said, “People think that Gandhiji is a class leader. But he is the one who attracted the entire nation with his principles and got independence to India. I think there is no other big mass leader than Gandhiji. The story of the film is sensible, that is the reason why Prabhudeva is directing this film. We added more entertainment to the original script.”
We added mass elements, fight sequences, my kind of dances and entertainment - ChiranjeeviChiranjeevi said, “I am very happy to work again with GFC banner. I am sure Prabhudeva can give excellent treatment to this script with his sensitivity and poetic orientation. LRMB film did not have mass elements, fight sequences, my kind of dances and entertainment. Since Prabhudeva is a sensible director, he can add all these elements without tampering with the basic theme of Gandhism. I have good rapport with Prabhudeva. It is a tailor-made character for me. The Gandhigiri in the film is going to make a lot of difference to the script. This film will strengthen my image by providing both entertainment as well as social message. Pawan Kalyan did a few seconds of appearance in ‘Naa Pere Kanchanamala’ song of Shankar Dada MBBS. He will also do a special appearance in this film too. He could act in the special role done by Abhishek Bachchan in LRMB.”
Music director Devi Sri Prasad said, “This is my 3rd film with Chiranjeevi, Prabhudeva and GFC. Since Chiranjeevi and Prabhudeva are working for this film, it demands great music and I am very confident of delivering goods.”
Crew:Dialogues: Paruchuri Brothers Music: Devi Sri Prasad Cinematography: Chota K NaiduArt: Ashok Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh Direction: Prabhudeva Producer: Gemini Film Circuit
Chiranjeevi is doing the Telugu remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai in Telugu as Shankar Dada Zindabad. Gemini Film Circuit that produced Shankar Dada MBBS is also producing this venture in the direction of Prabhudeva. Muhurat of this film was held at a function in Annapurna studios, Hyderabad.
Speaking on the occasion writer Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao said, “This is the season of sequels. Lage Raho Munnabhai is an out and out class film. We added mass elements in Telugu version without disturbing the mood of the film. The combination scenes of Chiranjeevi and Srikanth will be more in this film compared to the first part. Telugu proverbs literally translated in English were huge success in Shankar Dada MBBS, we will continue that stream by adding much more punch to it.”
Paruchuri Gopala Krishna said, “People think that Gandhiji is a class leader. But he is the one who attracted the entire nation with his principles and got independence to India. I think there is no other big mass leader than Gandhiji. The story of the film is sensible, that is the reason why Prabhudeva is directing this film. We added more entertainment to the original script.”
We added mass elements, fight sequences, my kind of dances and entertainment - ChiranjeeviChiranjeevi said, “I am very happy to work again with GFC banner. I am sure Prabhudeva can give excellent treatment to this script with his sensitivity and poetic orientation. LRMB film did not have mass elements, fight sequences, my kind of dances and entertainment. Since Prabhudeva is a sensible director, he can add all these elements without tampering with the basic theme of Gandhism. I have good rapport with Prabhudeva. It is a tailor-made character for me. The Gandhigiri in the film is going to make a lot of difference to the script. This film will strengthen my image by providing both entertainment as well as social message. Pawan Kalyan did a few seconds of appearance in ‘Naa Pere Kanchanamala’ song of Shankar Dada MBBS. He will also do a special appearance in this film too. He could act in the special role done by Abhishek Bachchan in LRMB.”
Music director Devi Sri Prasad said, “This is my 3rd film with Chiranjeevi, Prabhudeva and GFC. Since Chiranjeevi and Prabhudeva are working for this film, it demands great music and I am very confident of delivering goods.”
Monday, March 05, 2007
BBC and IBM strike 'web 3.0' deal
The BBC has struck a partnership deal with IBM to develop "web 3.0" technology, starting with a video search system for CBeebies and CBBC programmes, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
Ashley Highfield, the BBC director of future media and techology, said harnessing new video search technology could be the "difference between success and failure" for the corporation's online operation.
"All current video search technology - on the likes of YouTube as well - only works using meta tags or key words added to the videos, not the content itself," he said
That is fine if everything is meta-tagged at a high level, otherwise you just won't find the video you are after."
The idea is that the system being developed with IBM, called Marvel, will deliver a mass of relevant images and videos when content is searched.
"It is particularly appropriate for children and CBBC as searches could bring back, say, lots more relevant images or videos of a particular animal," Mr Highfield said.
Currently searches of CBBC content, powered by Microsoft, yield only text-based results.
In addition, Mr Highfield identified the potential of IBM's technology to hugely simplify the mammoth task of digitising the 1.4m-plus hours of TV and audio content in the BBC archive.
"It is hugely important for us when we start to uncover our archive as we have none or just simple tags on much of the content," said Mr Highfield.
"There is no way to find many archived programmes and we want to see if we can shortcut this, so the archive doesn't have to be all manually tagged," he added.
"This is web 3.0 - semantic web - technology, technology that actually understands the value of content on the page rather than just a page of ones and noughts."
The BBC has previously used video search technology, called Virage, supplied by its partner Autonomy, in a limited way but not on this planned scale or with such advanced features as with the new IBM tie-up.
"We do have some rudimentary video search but everyone will admit that video search is currently a relatively clunky technology," said Mr Highfield.
Another area of early collaboration - on a very long list of long-term projects - will be using an IBM product called Media Hub.
This ties into the Digital Media Initiative that Mr Highfield last month described as "the most important project over the next year to get right".
The DMI is a behind-the-scenes project that aims to break down the BBC's content fiefdoms and create a single "digital repository" of information on a particular subject for use on multiple platforms.
IBM, working with the BBC's official technology partner Siemens, will deploy a pilot of its Media Hub that aims to facilitate this project.
Steve Canepa, the IBM vice-president for media and entertainment, said that the video and audio search project aimed to "provide compelling experiences for listeners and viewers".
Mr Highfield described the partnership with IBM as a way of trying to "keep our nose out there".
"There is of course the big question of whether it will all work. It is early days but effective video search could be the difference between success and failure," he said.
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
Ashley Highfield, the BBC director of future media and techology, said harnessing new video search technology could be the "difference between success and failure" for the corporation's online operation.
"All current video search technology - on the likes of YouTube as well - only works using meta tags or key words added to the videos, not the content itself," he said
That is fine if everything is meta-tagged at a high level, otherwise you just won't find the video you are after."
The idea is that the system being developed with IBM, called Marvel, will deliver a mass of relevant images and videos when content is searched.
"It is particularly appropriate for children and CBBC as searches could bring back, say, lots more relevant images or videos of a particular animal," Mr Highfield said.
Currently searches of CBBC content, powered by Microsoft, yield only text-based results.
In addition, Mr Highfield identified the potential of IBM's technology to hugely simplify the mammoth task of digitising the 1.4m-plus hours of TV and audio content in the BBC archive.
"It is hugely important for us when we start to uncover our archive as we have none or just simple tags on much of the content," said Mr Highfield.
"There is no way to find many archived programmes and we want to see if we can shortcut this, so the archive doesn't have to be all manually tagged," he added.
"This is web 3.0 - semantic web - technology, technology that actually understands the value of content on the page rather than just a page of ones and noughts."
The BBC has previously used video search technology, called Virage, supplied by its partner Autonomy, in a limited way but not on this planned scale or with such advanced features as with the new IBM tie-up.
"We do have some rudimentary video search but everyone will admit that video search is currently a relatively clunky technology," said Mr Highfield.
Another area of early collaboration - on a very long list of long-term projects - will be using an IBM product called Media Hub.
This ties into the Digital Media Initiative that Mr Highfield last month described as "the most important project over the next year to get right".
The DMI is a behind-the-scenes project that aims to break down the BBC's content fiefdoms and create a single "digital repository" of information on a particular subject for use on multiple platforms.
IBM, working with the BBC's official technology partner Siemens, will deploy a pilot of its Media Hub that aims to facilitate this project.
Steve Canepa, the IBM vice-president for media and entertainment, said that the video and audio search project aimed to "provide compelling experiences for listeners and viewers".
Mr Highfield described the partnership with IBM as a way of trying to "keep our nose out there".
"There is of course the big question of whether it will all work. It is early days but effective video search could be the difference between success and failure," he said.
· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.
· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
Total Lunar Eclipse Over, Next One in August 28 This Year
The spectacular total lunar eclipse that took place last week-end gathered millions of sky-gazers, in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, but those who missed it will have another chance this summer.
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Moon is full, and when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so.
The most recent total lunar eclipse was on 3 March 2007 to 4 March 2007. It was L=3 to L=4 on the Danjon scale (a five-point scale useful for measuring the appearance and luminosity of the Moon during a lunar eclipse), it was fully visible over Europe and Africa and at least partly visible over the eastern Americas, Asia, and western Australia. The moon entered the penumbral shadow at 20:18 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 21:30 UTC. The total phase lasted between 22:44 UTC and 23:58 UTC. The moon left the umbra shadow at 01:11 UTC and left the penumbra shadow at 02:24 UTC 4 March 2007.
The most fortunate were the British, who, besides having the best position from Earth to observe this particular eclipse, also enjoyed a crystal-clear sky. During “totality” the Moon took on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth’s atmosphere.
The reddish glow was “the sunlight still reaching the moon after being refracted through the Earth's atmosphere” Sagan explained. The Sun being much larger, the shadow of the Earth is conical with a lighter outer region called 'penumbra' and the darkest part in the center - called the 'umbra'.
The reddish color of the Moon was caused by the quantity of dust that exists in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere. Had there been a major volcanic eruption, the Moon would have had a deep red appearance, thus becoming almost invisible. Since no volcanic eruption took place, the Moon got the reddish hue only at the peak of the eclipse. The reason that the Moon can be seen at all during totality is that sunlight is scattered and refracted around the edge of the Earth by our atmosphere. There have been gradations in hue between the parts of the disk nearest and farthest from the shadow center.
Robin Scagell, of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said- quoted by British tabloid The Sun- that it was “one of the best lunar eclipses from Britain for years”.
He said: “It was fascinating to watch the Moon’s graceful movement through the shadow of the Earth and check its coppery glow.”
The eclipse from March 3 was the only one Britain inhabitants could watch without worrying about the weather. The last eclipse visible in the insular territory took place in 2004, but was obnubilated by heavy clouds.
According to an Associated Press report, about a dozen amateur astronomers braved the cold and mud outside the Croydon Observatory in southeast London to watch the start of the eclipse. "It was really very dark," said Paul Harper, Chairman of the Croydon Astronomical Society, who estimated that moon had lost over four-fifths of its luminosity. "It was quite a nice one.
Unlike an eclipse of the Sun which often requires a long journey to the path of totality, those of the Moon can be observed from one’s own backyard. The passage of the Moon through the Earth’s shadow is equally visible from all places within the hemisphere where the Moon is above the local horizon. The beginning and ending of a lunar eclipse happens simultaneously for every viewer, unlike an eclipse of the Sun.
The next total lunar eclipse is expected to occur in August 28, and is also expected to be longer than the one we have witnessed last week. If the one on March 3 lasted for 3h and 14m, the one in August will last 3h and 31m and will be visible in Asia, Australia Oceania and the Americas.
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Moon is full, and when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so.
The most recent total lunar eclipse was on 3 March 2007 to 4 March 2007. It was L=3 to L=4 on the Danjon scale (a five-point scale useful for measuring the appearance and luminosity of the Moon during a lunar eclipse), it was fully visible over Europe and Africa and at least partly visible over the eastern Americas, Asia, and western Australia. The moon entered the penumbral shadow at 20:18 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 21:30 UTC. The total phase lasted between 22:44 UTC and 23:58 UTC. The moon left the umbra shadow at 01:11 UTC and left the penumbra shadow at 02:24 UTC 4 March 2007.
The most fortunate were the British, who, besides having the best position from Earth to observe this particular eclipse, also enjoyed a crystal-clear sky. During “totality” the Moon took on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth’s atmosphere.
The reddish glow was “the sunlight still reaching the moon after being refracted through the Earth's atmosphere” Sagan explained. The Sun being much larger, the shadow of the Earth is conical with a lighter outer region called 'penumbra' and the darkest part in the center - called the 'umbra'.
The reddish color of the Moon was caused by the quantity of dust that exists in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere. Had there been a major volcanic eruption, the Moon would have had a deep red appearance, thus becoming almost invisible. Since no volcanic eruption took place, the Moon got the reddish hue only at the peak of the eclipse. The reason that the Moon can be seen at all during totality is that sunlight is scattered and refracted around the edge of the Earth by our atmosphere. There have been gradations in hue between the parts of the disk nearest and farthest from the shadow center.
Robin Scagell, of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said- quoted by British tabloid The Sun- that it was “one of the best lunar eclipses from Britain for years”.
He said: “It was fascinating to watch the Moon’s graceful movement through the shadow of the Earth and check its coppery glow.”
The eclipse from March 3 was the only one Britain inhabitants could watch without worrying about the weather. The last eclipse visible in the insular territory took place in 2004, but was obnubilated by heavy clouds.
According to an Associated Press report, about a dozen amateur astronomers braved the cold and mud outside the Croydon Observatory in southeast London to watch the start of the eclipse. "It was really very dark," said Paul Harper, Chairman of the Croydon Astronomical Society, who estimated that moon had lost over four-fifths of its luminosity. "It was quite a nice one.
Unlike an eclipse of the Sun which often requires a long journey to the path of totality, those of the Moon can be observed from one’s own backyard. The passage of the Moon through the Earth’s shadow is equally visible from all places within the hemisphere where the Moon is above the local horizon. The beginning and ending of a lunar eclipse happens simultaneously for every viewer, unlike an eclipse of the Sun.
The next total lunar eclipse is expected to occur in August 28, and is also expected to be longer than the one we have witnessed last week. If the one on March 3 lasted for 3h and 14m, the one in August will last 3h and 31m and will be visible in Asia, Australia Oceania and the Americas.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
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