Learn

An eclipse of the Moon can only occur at a Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through a part of the Earth’s shadow. It takes the Moon 29.5 days to orbit the Earth, and usually it does so without passing through the Earth’s shadows. But every once in a while, the Moon will pass through Earth’s pale outer shadow called the penumbra and the dark inner shadow, called the umbra. When this happens, the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from the Moon causing a total lunar eclipse.

While this is occurring, indirect sunlight is still able to reach the Moon and illuminate it. The sunlight must first pass through the Earth’s atmosphere, however, and it will give the Moon colors ranging from brown to bright red, orange and yellow. The colors depend on how much dust and clouds are in the Earth’s atmosphere at the time of the eclipse.

The eclipse on the 20th lasted about three and a half hours. If you missed it, don’t worry because there will be another one on July 16, 2000. And, unlike a solar eclipse, you don’t need to wear special eye protection to view it. All you need is a clear night. So, mark your calendars for July 16 and check out the next lunar eclipse!