A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is opposite the Sun, the earth is in between and casts its shadow on the moon. It only occurs during a Full Moon but not every month.
There are three different types of lunar eclipses including: total, partial and penumbral. During an eclipse the moon looks reddish, which is also called a blood moon.
At its maximum, an eclipse can last for 3 hours and 40 minutes. You can also witness an eclipse while standing on the moon. The earth will appear dark to you because the Sun would be behind it.
Quick Facts: –
- A lunar eclipse can occur three times in a year. During the 21st century there was a total of 85 eclipses.
- Only a portion of the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow during a partial eclipse.
- In astronomy, the more specific term used is ‘Syzygy’ for an event in which three celestial bodies are configured in a straight line.
- The eclipse occurring on the nights of July 27-28, 2018 will be the longest eclipse this century.
- An eclipse occurs only when the full moon is at one of the nodes of the lunar orbit, a place where two tracks intersect. The lunar orbit is elliptical in shape.
- The darkness during a total lunar eclipse can be described using the Danjon Scale. It has 5 points starting from 0 to 4.
- Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses as the shadow cast by the earth is a bit larger than the moon.
- During an eclipse hundreds of hot spots have appeared on large areas on the moon’s surface reportedly.
