This light looks red because of the ‘ rayleigh scattering‘ – that’s the scattering of light by particles. When the direct sunlight is completely blocked, the only other light seen is refracted through Earth’s shadow. Some cultures used to refer to a total lunar eclipse as a blood moon. Waxing and Waning Moons occur due to the odd-angle the Moon sits relative to the Earth and the Sun. This also means a lunar eclipse only happens during a full moon. So when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all aligned, it means the Moon will pass into the shadow of the Earth. The Moon does not have its own light source that big pizza pie in the sky is reflecting light from the Sun on to the Earth. ![]() What is a Lunar Eclipse?Ī lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth and into its shadow. That’s right folks: there is a lunar eclipse due on 7 and 8 August 2017. What you may NOT know is eclipses come in pairs. ![]() And fair enough too-it’s a huge astronomical event, with the most amazing visibility during the most considerate time of day in the history of humans (**maybe a slight exaggeration, but it is still fairly convenient for most people in the United States of America). Everyone is talking about the solar eclipse happening on 21 August 2017.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |