I’m hoping the clear sky holds out long enough to see the total lunar eclipse tonight at 10:01pm. It’s the only eclipse of the year - the next one will be in December of 2010. During a total lunar eclipse, the moon can take on a colorful appearance: brown, orange, or red!
So what’s a total lunar eclipse? It happens when a full moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. The shadow is composed of two cone shaped parts, the penumbra (gray above, where the Earth blocks some of the sun’s rays) and the umbra (red above, where the Earth blocks all of the sun’s rays). A total eclipse is when the moon passes through the umbra, with the Earth preventing any sunlight from reaching the moon.
To learn more about eclipses go here.
