Western North America will have a front-row seat on Saturday as the full moon gets painted red in the briefest eclipse this century.
The most spectacular part of the eclipse will be the totality phase, when Earth's shadow completely covers the moon and turns it an eerie red. The moon will only skirt the deepest and darkest part of Earth’s shadow, or umbra, and totality could last anywhere from nine to 12 minutes.
This weekend's blood moon will be the third of four lunar eclipses, dubbed a tetrad, over the course of two years. The pattern won’t repeat for another 20 years or so. The first and second happened in April and September 2014, and the last of the tetrad will grace our skies on September 28, 2015.
During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the moon and the sun, casting a shadow. This lineup doesn't happen every time the moon makes its monthly trek around Earth, though, because the orbit is tilted and usually keeps the moon out of Earth's shadow.
Total lunar eclipses, known as blood moons, are even more rare. They happen only during a full moon, and only when the sun, Earth, and moon are precisely aligned so that our planet's shadow completely blankets the moon’s disk. This usually happens only twice a year, and can be seen from only one hemisphere of the Earth.
For thousands of years, eclipses of Earth’s lone natural satellite have garnered awe and fear. Now that science has explained the celestial mechanics at play, we can all simply enjoy the cosmic ballet.
During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the moon and the sun, casting a shadow. This lineup doesn't happen every time the moon makes its monthly trek around Earth, though, because the orbit is tilted and usually keeps the moon out of Earth's shadow.
Total lunar eclipses, known as blood moons, are even more rare. They happen only during a full moon, and only when the sun, Earth, and moon are precisely aligned so that our planet's shadow completely blankets the moon’s disk. This usually happens only twice a year, and can be seen from only one hemisphere of the Earth.
For thousands of years, eclipses of Earth’s lone natural satellite have garnered awe and fear. Now that science has explained the celestial mechanics at play, we can all simply enjoy the cosmic ballet.
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