Talk:Solar eclipses on Pluto
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[edit] Duration is dubious
- The maximum duration of any solar eclipse during this period is about 4 minutes 21 seconds.
This figure is incorrect. Although I cannot provide accurate corrections, my investigations using Celestia suggest that the maximum duration of a solar eclipse on Pluto (where Charon eclipses the sun) is about 91 minutes, not 4. From the surface of Pluto, Charon subtends an angle of about 3 degrees 40 minutes. The day length of Pluto and Charon is about 6.387 days. The length of time that Charon can cover the sun is 3+2⁄3 / 360 * 6.387 days, or 0.0651 days, which is 93.7 minutes. -- B.D.Mills (T, C) 06:50, 17 April 2008 (UTC)
- I have corrected the duration in the article based on these calculations, but left the dubious tag in place so that attention is drawn to the inaccuracy. While I do not feel comfortable about using these calculations in the article, it's far better to substitute a figure that is roughly correct than leave in the article a figure that is wildly inaccurate. -- B.D.Mills (T, C) 06:54, 17 April 2008 (UTC)
I looked at Celestia. The original poster should have said, "At maximum it would take up to 4 hours and 21 minutes for the shadow of Charon to cross from one end of Pluto to the other." -- Kheider (talk) 23:41, 8 June 2008 (UTC)
