The Moon during an eclipse in 1993.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Andy Steere

Total Lunar Eclipse
News story originally written on May 15, 2003

There will be an eclipse of the Moon on Thursday night, May 15, 2003. It will be the first eclipse in 2003. This eclipse is a total eclipse of the Moon, which means the Moon will pass through the darkest part of Earth's shadow.

During the eclipse, the Moon will look dark red. Even the darkest part of Earth's shadow lets a little light through. The light that gets through passes through Earth's atmosphere, which blocks out the light that isn't red. That's why the Sun looks red at sunset, too.

The main part of the eclipse will last about 50 minutes. Check out the link to NASA's site (below) to find out when the eclipse can be seen from where you live.

Last modified May 13, 2003 by Randy Russell.

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