The Moon during a total lunar eclipse in November 1993.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Andy Steere
Total Lunar Eclipse - November 2003
News story originally written on November 7, 2003
The second total lunar eclipse of 2003 will
occur on the night of Saturday, November 8th. The Earth's shadow will darken
the Moon for a total of more than
four hours, while the "total eclipse phase" spans a period of about
25 minutes. If you live in the eastern part of North America, the middle of
the eclipse occurs around 8:19 P.M. The eclipse begins before moonrise as seen
on the West Coast, so the Moon will be tinted red as it rises in the West. The
copper hue of the Moon during a lunar eclipse is caused by red light refracting
through Earth's atmosphere which lights the Moon
Earth's shadow has two parts: a lighter outer ring, and an inner, darker circle.
During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon passes through both sections of this
shadow, so there are several different stages to the eclipse. The link to NASA's
page about this eclipse (below) provides details about the times of the different
stages for viewers in various locations.
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