Sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere turns the Moon reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse.
Click on image for full size
Eclipse photo courtesy Andy Steere; diagram courtesy NASA/Tony Phillips.
Lunar Eclipse in October 2004
News story originally written on October 27, 2004
There will be an eclipse of the Moon on Wednesday night, October
27, 2004 (or the morning of the 28th if you are in
Europe or
Africa).
The shadow of the Earth will fall on the Moon, and the Moon will get dark!
The Moonwill not be so dark that you can't see it. The Moon will be dark
orange or red, not black. Some sunlight goes through Earth's atmosphere and
lights the Moon a little bit. Only orange and red light gets through, so the
Moon looks orange or red. The Moon will be orange like a Halloween pumpkin!
The main part of the eclipse is about 80 minutes long. Want to know if you
can see the eclipse where you live? Look at the link
to NASA below to find
out when to look for the eclipse.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
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