The entire partial and total phases of this Blood Moon total lunar eclipse will be visible Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. This is the first of only two lunar eclipses in Although the moon won't technically pass entirely through the deepest part of Earth's shadow, or umbra, most of the lunar face will turn a vivid reddish-color. All 50 states will be able to catch the eclipse in its entirety, which peaks at a. This will be the second and final lunar eclipse of A lunar eclipse can occur only at full moon.
A total lunar eclipse can happen only when the sun, Earth and moon are perfectly lined up — anything less than perfection creates a partial lunar eclipse or no eclipse at all. Some understanding of simple celestial mechanics explains how lunar eclipses work. Related: How lunar eclipses work infographic. Because the moon's orbit around Earth lies in a slightly different plane than Earth's orbit around the sun, perfect alignment for an eclipse doesn't occur at every full moon.
A total lunar eclipse develops over time, typically a couple hours for the whole event. Here's how it works: Earth casts two shadows that fall on the moon during a lunar eclipse: The umbra is a full, dark shadow. The penumbra is a partial outer shadow. The moon passes through these shadows in stages. The initial and final stages — when the moon is in the penumbral shadow — are not so noticeable, so the best part of an eclipse is during the middle of the event, when the moon is in the umbral shadow.
Total eclipses are a freak of cosmic happenstance. Ever since the moon formed, about 4. The setup right now is perfect: the moon is at the perfect distance for Earth's shadow to cover the moon totally, but just barely. The Moon is slightly tinted when it passes through the light outer portion of the shadow, the penumbra, but turns dark red as it passes through the central portion of the shadow, called the umbra. When the Moon passes between Sun and Earth, the lunar shadow is seen as a solar eclipse on Earth.
When Earth passes directly between Sun and Moon, its shadow creates a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses can only happen when the Moon is opposite the Sun in the sky, a monthly occurrence we know as a full Moon. But lunar eclipses do not occur every month because the Moon's orbit is tilted five degrees from Earth's orbit around the Sun. There are two types of eclipses: solar and lunar.
During a solar eclipse, the Moon blocks the Sun from view. Solar eclipses happen only at the new moon phase, when the Moon is between Earth and the Sun. During a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow on Earth, and blocks or partially blocks our view of the Sun. The shadow consists of two parts, the umbra, where the Sun is completely blocked, and the penumbra, where the Sun is partially obscured. People in the umbra will see a total eclipse, while people in the penumbra will see a partial eclipse.
The Moon does not have any light of its own—it shines because its surface reflects sunlight. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon and cuts off the Moon's light supply.
When this happens, the surface of the Moon takes on a reddish glow instead of going completely dark. The red color of a totally eclipsed Moon has prompted many people in recent years to refer to total lunar eclipses as Blood Moons.
User photos: Total lunar eclipse Why Red? The reason why the Moon takes on a reddish color during totality is a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering.
It is the same mechanism responsible for causing colorful sunrises and sunsets, and for the sky to look blue. Even though sunlight may look white to human eyes, it is actually composed of different colors. These colors are visible through a prism or in a rainbow.
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