Cosmos/Moon/Eclipses: Difference between revisions
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Wait! What? The moon and the sun are both visible in the sky! How can that be? [[Agencies/NASA|NASA]] says the Moon is eclipsed only when it moves into Earth’s shadow in space. Which is why this type of eclipse is often forgotten and the only eclipse to be labeled a "phenomenon". It is said to occur because of the curvature of Earth and our planet’s atmosphere refracts the images of the Sun and Moon and makes them appear to be in slightly different positions.
[[File:Rayleigh during lunar eclipse.webp|200px|right|NASA's explanation of the Red moon during lunar eclipse]]▼
The same phenomenon that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red causes the Moon to turn red during a lunar eclipse. It’s called Rayleigh scattering. Light travels in waves, and different colors of light have different physical properties. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more easily by particles in Earth’s atmosphere than red light, which has a longer wavelength.▼
▲The same "phenomenon" that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red causes the Moon to turn red during a lunar eclipse. It’s called Rayleigh scattering. Light travels in waves, and different colors of light have different physical properties. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more easily by particles in Earth’s atmosphere than red light, which has a longer wavelength.
▲[[File:Rayleigh during lunar eclipse.webp|200px|right|NASA's explanation of the Red moon during lunar eclipse]]
Red light, on the other hand, travels more directly through the atmosphere. When the Sun is overhead, we see blue light throughout the sky. But when the Sun is setting, sunlight must pass through more atmosphere and travel farther before reaching our eyes. The blue light from the Sun scatters away, and longer-wavelength red, orange, and yellow light pass through.
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