What exactly is a total lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon form a straight line. When sunlight hits the Earth, a shadow is formed. This shadow reaches the orbit of the moon. An eclipsed moon is one that passes through the Earth's shadow while in orbit.
A total lunar eclipse happens when the entire moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth's shadow. Simply put, the Earth blocks the sun's light from reaching the moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the moon turns reddish. A total lunar eclipse was recently seen around the world on 8th November 2022.
Why does the moon appear red?
The blood-red colour is caused by the refraction, filtering, and spreading of light by the Earth’s atmosphere. Sunlight is also made up of the VIBGYOR (Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red) colours, just like a rainbow.
So, blue light is filtered out when sunlight collides with gases in the Earth's atmosphere. The red light, on the other hand, is not. Some red light is refracted or bent and makes its way to the moon. This causes the moon to look red. Also, the recent total lunar eclipse is a special one.
What’s special about the recent total lunar eclipse?
A total lunar eclipse is one of nature’s most beautiful sights to see. If you missed it, you're probably wondering when you'll get another chance to see it.
There's some bad news. You'll have to wait three years for the next one (oh no!). The next total lunar eclipse will happen on 14th March 2025. This is what makes the recent total lunar eclipse a special one.
What did we learn from this article?
We must understand that a lunar eclipse is a natural event. Many superstitions are connected with it, such as not cooking or eating food during lunar eclipses, not leaving the house, etc. We must ignore such superstitions and instead enjoy the beauty of nature.
So, did you see the recent total lunar eclipse? Please let us know in the comment section.
