Lunar Eclipses

The lunar eclipse is caused by the shadow of the Earth falling on the Moon. This can only happen if the Moon is in the full moon phase. The lunar eclipse, including total eclipses, is far from being such a rare phenomenon as the solar eclipse is. This is because the lunar eclipse is visible all over the hemisphere tilted towards the Moon at the moment of the eclipse. People observing the lunar eclipse from different places on our planet at the same time have roughly the same view. The only difference is the viewing angle but the distance of the Moon from the Earth, about 384,400 km, makes the difference insignificant.

Although from a strictly scientific point of view the total lunar eclipse is not such a valuable natural phenomenon as the solar eclipse, it is well worth observing as it gives rise to some spectacular effects. The most interesting is the fact that the Moon, although completely submerged in the Earth's umbra is usually clearly visible in the sky and has an extraordinary red-orange color.

If, at the moment of the total lunar eclipse, we were not standing on the Earth, but on the Moon, we would be able to observe the eclipse of the Sun by the Earth. We would witness a breath-taking view of the Earth in the sky covering the Sun. Viewing the unilluminated hemisphere of the Earth, our planet would be dark but with a bright colorful ring around it created by the atmosphere. The glaring ring would display of all shades of yellow, orange and red - colors which we can observe in the sky on the Earth after sunset. The brightness of this colorful ring is sufficient to light up the lunar surface. As the color and brightness of the ring depend on the actual state of the Earth's atmosphere each eclipse is an unrepeatable original.

Back to the Earth now. The Moon surface of which has a neutral grey color takes on the color of the bright ring of the Earth's atmosphere i.e. the red-orange color. The unforgettable moment to be retained forever in the memory of everybody who could observe it through a telescope comes shortly after totality has ended when the first bright rays of sunlight hit the lunar surface. This is also the moment when the picture on this page was taken.