Widely scattered blue light tints the sky when the Sun is overhead on clear days. In air, colors at the blue and violet end of the rainbow scatter more widely than colors like red and orange. Sunlight bends and scatters as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere. If you’ve ever looked up at a blue sky, or savored a fiery sunset, you have seen this phenomenon in action. These same properties cause each color of light to behave differently when passing through a substance like air. Why does the Moon turn red during a lunar eclipse?Ĭolors are one way for our brains to interpret variations in the physical properties of light. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio If the supermoon eclipse isn’t visible from your location, you can still explore this phenomenon second by second with NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.Įxplore a frame-by-frame model of this month’s supermoon eclipse based on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data. Observers in eastern Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii, will see both the total and the partial eclipse. The partial eclipse, which takes place as the Moon moves into and out of Earth’s shadow, will be visible from the eastern United States and Canada just before the Moon sets in the morning, and from India, Nepal, western China, Mongolia, and eastern Russia just after the Moon rises in the evening. Along the Asian Pacific Rim, the total eclipse will be visible just after moonrise. The total lunar eclipse will be visible near moonset in the western continental United States and Canada, all of Mexico, most of Central America and Ecuador, western Peru, and southern Chile and Argentina. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio. Contours mark the edge of the region where the eclipse will be visible at the times when the Moon enters or leaves the umbra (the part of the Earth's shadow where the Sun is completely hidden) and penumbra (the part where the Sun is only partially blocked). This map shows where the lunar eclipse is visible. Our atmosphere filters the light as it passes, softening the edge of our planet’s shadow and giving the Moon a deep, rosy glow. During this alignment, Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from reaching the full moon. What is a lunar eclipse?Ī lunar eclipse takes place when the Sun and Moon occupy precise positions on opposite sides of Earth. When the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth at the same time as it is full, it is called a “ supermoon.” During this event, because the full moon is a little bit closer to us than usual, it appears especially large and bright in the sky. Each month, the Moon passes through perigee (the point closest to Earth) and apogee (the point farthest from Earth). The Moon travels around our planet in an elliptical orbit, or an elongated circle. In other words, on May 26, 2021, the full moon will enter Earth’s shadow - and, when the Moon is not in our planet’s shade, it will appear even bigger and brighter than usual. Hover over events for more details.This month brings the “most super” of the year’s supermoons, and on top of that, a total lunar eclipse. Current lunation cycle is highlighted yellow. Dates are based on the Gregorian calendar. Time is adjusted for DST when applicable. * All times are local time for The Red Pillar. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
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