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Astronomy Highlights Enchanted By A Lunar Eclipse
Enchanted By A Lunar Eclipse
Written by Gord Falconer Monday, 13 April 2009 00:00
In some sense, Earth is just a big round rock orbiting the Sun. Like other rocks, it casts a shadow on a sunny day. Earth’s shadow is cone-shaped and projects over a million kilometers into space. Our Moon which is about 385,000 km away is well within range of Earth’s shadow. How does an eclipse occur? During a Full Moon, the Moon usually passes above or below the shadow; but sometimes, it passes partially or directly into the path of Earth’s shadow. When this alignment occurs, we call it a lunar eclipse. One of the things you will notice during a lunar eclipse is how the moon’s colour changes. From its normal dazzling silvery white, it increases in darkness as it makes its way into Earth’s shadow. It never goes completely black, but rather turns a darkish copper penny red. This is due to sunlight scattering from Earth’s atmosphere onto the Moon. After a short while, the Moon emerges out of the shadow and returns to its full brilliance. Lunar eclipses are fairly common and easy to view - just look to the sky!
Next total lunar eclipse visible from Lethbridge: Dec. 21, 2010
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