![]() ![]() 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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