![]() On the other side of the Earth, where the sunlight reaches the planet face on, it would be daytime (with blue skies because of the way our atmosphere scatters different wavelengths of light). In essence, you would be watching all of the sunrises and sunsets on Earth at the same time! The dark Earth in front of you would be the parts of the Earth where it is night. If you were standing on the Moon during a total lunar eclipse, you would see a ring of orange or red light around the Earth where the atmosphere extends into space around our home planet. Red Ring Around the Earth: A Different Perspective on a Total Lunar Eclipse How gold, orange, or red the Moon appears during a total lunar eclipse depends on how much dust, water, and other particles are in Earth's atmosphere, as well as factors such as temperature and humidity. That's because the light is indirect and because the red-colored wavelengths are only a part of what makes up the white light from the sun that the Moon usually receives. ![]() The reddish light projected on the Moon is much dimmer than the full white sunlight the Moon typically reflects back to us. This red-colored light passes through our atmosphere without getting absorbed and scattered, before the atmosphere bends it (refracts it) back out, projecting indirect, reddish light onto the Moon. What's left over is the orange- and red-colored light. That is, the atmosphere filters out (scatters away) most of the blue-colored light. When white light passes through an atmosphere, it can be broken up into visible colors and other wavelengths.ĭuring a total lunar eclipse, white sunlight hitting the atmosphere on the sides of the Earth gets absorbed and then radiated out (scattered). When all of the waves are together, such as when they travel in space, the light is white. Violet has the shortest wavelength and red has the longest. Sunlight has a range of wavelengths, some of which are visible colors. A wavelength is the distance between the tops of the waves. Sunlight is an energy that travels in waves. But, why is this bent light gold, orange, or red in color? ![]() However, because Earth's atmosphere extends out beyond Earth, sunlight passes through it.Īs mentioned, some of this light is bent back and projects onto the moon. You'd think that because Earth's shadow is large enough to cover the moon during a total lunar eclipse, the Moon would go completely dark. The Moon turns golden, copper, or even "blood red"! Why does the Moon turn red - sort of like Mars? When the Moon is fully in the shadow of Earth (its umbra), the eclipse is total. In its orbit around Earth, the full Moon gradually darkens bit by bit as it enters and travels through Earth's partial shadow. Some indirect sunlight still gets to the Moon, however, because it is bent by our atmosphere, creating two areas of partial shadow, partial illumination (penumbra). The Sun shines on Earth, creating a shadow (umbra) that is just large enough to cover the Moon. For any lunar eclipse, we need a full moon.ĭuring a total lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Earth's moon line up in space. To understand why, let's understand what a lunar eclipse is all about. However, the reason the Moon looks red during a total lunar eclipse is quite different. Mars has a reddish color because of the iron oxides (rust) on its surface. ![]() Blood Red Moon: Total Lunar Eclipse Why does the Moon look orange or red like Mars during a total lunar eclipse?
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