/əˈklips/

noun
1. 1.
an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its
source of illumination.
"an eclipse of the sun"

2. 2.
ORNITHOLOGY
a phase during which the distinctive markings of a bird (especially a male duck) are obscured by molting of the breeding
plumage.
"eclipse plumage"
verb
1. 1.
(of a celestial body) obscure the light from or to (another celestial body).
"as the last piece of the sun was eclipsed by the moon"
Since the beginning of human history, people have looked for the presence of the Sun or moon in the sky. They
have acted as the link between cultures and their gods, as well as a working calendar. A few times every year,
however, the sun or full moon disappears from the sky during an eclipse. What is an eclipse, and how does it
occur?
What is an Eclipse?
An eclipse is when one celestial object moves in front of another one. There are two types of eclipses, solar and
lunar.
Solar eclipses

Solar eclipses occur when the moon moves directly between the Earth and Sun. In this case, the sun appears to totally
or partially “disappear” for a period of time. Solar eclipses, while amazing in that night appears to fall during midday, occur
two to three times a year, and can only be seen over a very small portion of the earth.
The last solar eclipse took place on February 27, 2017, and was visible over South America and Africa. The next solar eclipse
will occur over the U.S. providing the best view path stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. The town with the best view
of the celestial phenomenon is Hopkinsville, Ken. The total solar eclipse will occur on August 21, 2017, at 10:45 AM in
Hopkinsville, Ken., and will last approximately 2 minutes. Check out our solar eclipse countdown for more information about
solar eclipses.
Lunar eclipses

Lunar eclipses are also rare events, but you can view them at any location with a view of the moon. A lunar eclipse occurs
when the moon crosses the earth`s shadow, causing the moon to disappear from the sky.
During a “total” lunar eclipse, the blotted-out moon reappears for a short time, looking reddish-brown. This is because some
of the sunlight that reaches Earth is “scattered” back by our atmosphere. This is the same concept that gives us colorful
sunrises and sunsets. A lunar eclipse only happens during a full moon.
In ancient times, people considered eclipses to be a terrible omen, as one of the “heavenly bodies” in the sky was changing
colors or disappearing. Early eastern Europeans believed that the red lunar eclipse was the sign of a demon escaping from
the moon, and would throw rocks at the moon to stop the demon. Natives in the Americas shared this wonder about lunar
eclipses, believing that their moon god was communicating with them during an eclipse.
In reality, lunar eclipses are safe to view and are quite photogenic as well. When the moon is darkened, you can sometimes
even see stars that are normally blocked out by moonlight.
The next lunar eclipse is on Monday and Tuesday, August 7 and 8, and will be visible in the entire Eastern Hemisphere –
except for where the sky is cloudy, of course.
Lunar Eclipse Science
The Earth`s shadow includes two parts: the penumbra, the outer shell, which blocks some — but not all– of the Sun`s rays,
and the umbra, which blocks all direct sun.
When the moon passes through only the penumbra, a relatively unimpressive penumbral eclipse occurs, with little more than
a faint “smudge” appearing to darken the moon. When the moon only passes through a part of the umbra, a partial eclipse
occurs. Finally, when the Moon passes completely through the umbra, a total eclipse takes place.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. A solar eclipse can
only take place at the phase of new moon, when the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth and its shadows fall upon Earth's
surface.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. A solar
eclipse can only take place at the phase of new moon, when the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth and its
shadows fall upon Earth’s surface. But whether the alignment produces a total solar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse or an
annular solar eclipse depends on several factors, all explained below.

The fact that an eclipse can occur at all is a fluke of celestial mechanics and time. Since the moon formed about 4.5 billion
years ago, it has been gradually moving away from Earth (by about 1.6 inches, or 4 centimeters per year). Right now the
moon is at the perfect distance to appear in our sky exactly the same size as the sun, and therefore block it out. But this is
not always true.
When is the next solar eclipse?

The next solar eclipse is a total eclipse that will take place on July 2, 2019. It will be visible from South America and the South
Pacific. To find out about upcoming solar eclipses and how to see them,
Types of solar eclipses
There are four types of solar eclipses: total, annular, partial and hybrid. Here’s what causes each type:

Total solar eclipses

These are a happy accident of nature. The sun's 864,000-mile diameter is fully 400 times greater than that of our puny moon,
which measures just about 2,160 miles. But the moon also happens to be about 400 times closer to Earth than the sun (the
ratio varies as both orbits are elliptical), and as a result, when the orbital planes intersect and the distances align favorably,
the new moon can appear to completely blot out the disk of the sun. On the average a total eclipse occurs somewhere on
Earth about every 18 months.
There are actually two types of shadows: the umbra is that part of the shadow where all sunlight is blocked out. The umbra
takes the shape of a dark, slender cone. It is surrounded by the penumbra, a lighter, funnel-shaped shadow from which
sunlight is partially obscured.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon casts its umbra upon Earth's surface; that shadow can sweep a third of the way around
the planet in just a few hours. Those who are fortunate enough to be positioned in the direct path of the umbra will see the
sun's disk diminish into a crescent as the moon's dark shadow rushes toward them across the landscape.

During the brief period of totality, when the sun is completely covered, the beautiful corona — the tenuous outer atmosphere
of the sun — is revealed. Totality may last as long as 7 minutes 31 seconds, though most total eclipses are usually much
shorter.
On Jan. 4, 2011, the moon passed in front of the sun in a partial solar eclipse - as seen from parts of Earth. Here, the joint Japanese-American Hinode
satellite captured the same breathtaking event from space. The unique view created what's called an annular solar eclipse.

(Image: © Hinode/XRT)

Partial solar eclipses

A partial solar eclipse occurs when only the penumbra (the partial shadow) passes over you. In these cases, a part of the sun
always remains in view during the eclipse. How much of the sun remains in view depends on the specific circumstances.

Usually the penumbra gives just a glancing blow to our planet over the polar regions; in such cases, places far away from the
poles but still within the zone of the penumbra might not see much more than a small scallop of the sun hidden by the moon.
In a different scenario, those who are positioned within a couple of thousand miles of the path of a total eclipse will see a
partial eclipse.
The closer you are to the path of totality, the greater the solar obscuration. If, for instance, you are positioned just outside of
the path of the total eclipse, you will see the sun wane to a narrow crescent, then thicken up again as the shadow passes by.

Annular solar eclipses? |

An annular eclipse, though a rare and amazing sight, is far different from a total one. The sky will darken ... somewhat; a sort
of weird “counterfeit twilight” since so much of the sun still shows. The annular eclipse is a subspecies of a partial eclipse, not
total. The maximum duration for an annular eclipse is 12 minutes 30 seconds.

However, an annular solar eclipse is similar to a total eclipse in that the moon appears to pass centrally across the sun. The
difference is, the moon is too smallto cover the disk of the sun completely. Because the moon circles Earth in an elliptical
orbit, its distance from Earth can vary from 221,457 miles to 252,712 miles. But the dark shadow cone of the moon’s umbra
can extend out for no longer than 235,700 miles; that’s less than the moon’s average distance from Earth.
So if the moon is at some greater distance, the tip of the umbra does not reach Earth. During such an eclipse, the antumbra,
a theoretical continuation of the umbra, reaches the ground, and anyone situated within it can look up past either side of the
umbra and see an annulus, or “ring of fire” around the moon. A good analogy is putting a penny atop a nickel, the penny being
the moon, the nickel being the sun.
Sun
Hybrid solar eclipses
These are also called annular-total (“A-T”) eclipses. This special type of eclipse occurs when the moon’s distance is near its
limit for the umbra to reach Earth. In most cases, an A-T eclipse starts as an annular eclipse because the tip of the umbra
falls just short of making contact with Earth; then it becomes total, because the roundness of the planet reaches up and
intercepts the shadow tip near the middle of the path, then finally it returns to annular toward the end of the path.

Because the moon appears to pass directly in front of the sun, total, annular and hybrid eclipses are also called “central”
eclipses to distinguish them from eclipses that are merely partial.

Of all solar eclipses, about 28 percent are total; 35 percent are partial; 32 percent annular; and just 5 percent are hybrids.

Predictions of solar eclipses

Eclipses do not happen at every new moon, of course. This is because the moon’s orbit is tilted just over 5 degrees relative
to Earth’s orbit around the sun. For this reason, the moon’s shadow usually passes either above or below Earth, so a solar
eclipse doesn’t occur.
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But as a rule, at least twice each year (and sometimes as many as five times in a year), a new moon will align itself in just
such a way to eclipse the sun. That alignment point is called a node. Depending on how closely the new moon approaches a
node will determine whether a particular eclipse is central or partial. And of course, the moon’s distance from the Earth — and
to a lesser degree, Earth’s distance from the sun — will ultimately determine whether a central eclipse is total, annular or a
hybrid.

And these alignments don’t happen haphazardly, for after a specific interval of time, an eclipse will repeat itself or return. This
interval is known as the Saros cycle and was known as far back as the days of the early Chaldean astronomers some 28
centuries ago. The word Saros means “repetition” and is equal to 18 years, 11⅓ days (or a day less or more depending on
the number of leap years that have intervened). After this interval, the relative positions of the sun and moon relative to a
node are nearly the same as before. That third of a day in the interval causes the path of each eclipse of a series to be
displaced in longitude a third of the way around Earth to the west with respect to its predecessor.

For example, on March 29, 2006, a total eclipse swept across parts of western and northern Africa and then across southern
Asia. One Saros later, on April 8, 2024, this eclipse will recur, except instead of Africa and Asia, it will track across northern
Mexico, the central and eastern United States and the Maritime provinces of Canada.
Solar eclipse safety)

As a solar eclipse approaches, the mainstream media often will provide a variety of warnings and advisories against looking
at the sun with bare eyes, as blindness could ensue. This has given most people the idea that eclipses are dangerous.

Not so!

It’s the sun that is dangerous — all the time! The sun constantly emits invisible infrared rays that can damage your eyes.
Ordinarily, we have no reason to gaze at the sun. An eclipse gives us a reason, but we shouldn’t.
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There are safe ways, however . . .

By far, the safest way to view a solar eclipse is to construct a “pinhole camera.” A pinhole or small opening is used to form an
image of the sun on a screen placed about 3 feet (or about 1 meter) behind the opening. Binoculars or a small telescope
mounted on a tripod can also be used to project a magnified image of the sun onto a white card. The farther away the card,
the larger you can focus the image. Look for sunspots. Notice that the sun appears somewhat darker around its limb or edge.
This method of solar viewing is safe so long as you remember not to look through the binoculars or telescope when they are
pointed toward the sun; put another way, never look directly at the sun when any part of its blindingly bright surface is visible.
A variation on the pinhole theme is the “pinhole mirror.” Cover a pocket-mirror with a piece of paper that has a ¼-inch hole
punched in it. Open a sun-facing window and place the covered mirror on the sunlit sill so it reflects a disk of light onto the far
wall inside. The disk of light is an image of the sun’s face. The farther away from the wall is the better; the image will be only
1 inch across for every 9 feet (or 3 centimeters for every 3 meters) from the mirror. Modeling clay works well to hold the mirror
in place. Experiment with different-sized holes in the paper. Again, a large hole makes the image bright, but fuzzy, and a small
one makes it dim but sharp. Darken the room as much as possible. Be sure to try this out beforehand to make sure the mirror’s
optical quality is good enough to project a clean, round image. Of course, don’t let anyone look at the sun in the mirror.
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If you’re around leafy trees, look at the shadow cast by them during the partial phases. What do you see? Is it worth a
photograph? You will see scores of partially eclipsed suns projected through pinhole gaps between the leaves. This is caused
by diffraction, a property of light. According to Vince Huegele, an optical physicist at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center,
the light rays do not shoot straight by the rim of the gaps, or a pinhole, but bend around the edge. This wave effect creates a
pattern of rings that resembles a bull's eye.

Acceptable filters for unaided visual solar observations include aluminized Mylar. Some astronomy dealers carry Mylar filter
material specially designed for solar observing. Also acceptable is shade 14 arc-welder’s glass, available for just a few dollars
at welding supply shops. Of course, it is always a good idea to test your filters and/or observing techniques before eclipse
day.
Unacceptable filters include sunglasses, old color film negatives, black-and-white film that contains no silver, photographic
neutral-density filters and polarizing filters. Although these materials have very low visible-light transmittance levels, they
transmit an unacceptably high level of near-infrared radiation that can cause a thermal retinal burn. The fact that the sun
appears dim, or that you feel no discomfort when looking at the sun through these types of filters, is no guarantee that your
eyes are safe.
There is one time when you can safely look directly at the sun: during a total eclipse, when the sun's disk is entirely covered.
During those few precious seconds or minutes, the magnificent corona shines forth in all its glory surrounding the darkened
sun; a marvelous fringe of pearly white light. It differs in size, in tints and patterns from eclipse to eclipse. It is always faint and
delicate, with a sheen like a pale aurora. It has a variable appearance. Sometimes it has a soft continuous look; at other times,
long rays of it shoot out in three or four directions. It may stand out from the disk in filmy petals and streamers. But when the
sun begins to again emerge into view, the corona quickly disappears and you’ll need to protect your eyes once again.
This photo of the partial solar eclipse of Sept. 13, 2015, was snapped by astrophotographer K.J. Mulder from his home in South Africa.

(Image: © K.J. Mulder/Worlds in Ink)

Eclipses in ancient history

As best as we can determine, the earliest record of a solar eclipse occurred over four millennia ago. In China, it was believed
that the gradual blotting out of the sun was caused by a dragon who was attempting to devour the sun, and it was the duty of
the court astronomers to shoot arrows, beat drums and raise whatever cacophony they could to frighten the dragon away.

In the ancient Chinese classic Shujing (or Book of Documents) is the account of Hsi and Ho, two court astronomers who were
caught completely unaware by a solar eclipse, having gotten drunk just before the event began. In the aftermath, Zhong Kang,
the fourth emperor of the Xia dynasty ordered that Hsi and Ho be punished by having their heads chopped off. The eclipse in
question was that of Oct. 22 in the year 2134 B.C.
In the Bible, in the book of Amos 8:9, are the words, “I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the Earth in
the clear day.” Biblical scholars believe this is a reference to a celebrated eclipse observed at Nineveh in ancient Assyria on
June 15, 763 B.C. An Assyrian tablet also attests to the event.

A solar eclipse even stopped a war.

According to the historian Herodotus, there was a five-year war that raged between the Lydians and the Medes. As the war
was about to move into its sixth year, a Greek sage, Thales of Miletus foretold to the Ionians that the time was soon
approaching when day would turn to night. On May 17, 603 B.C. the sun faded away just as Thales had alluded that it would.
So believing that it was a sign from above, the combatants called a truce, which was cemented by a double marriage, for, as
Herodotus wrote: “Without some strong bond, there is little of security to be found in men’s covenants.”

And giving new meaning to the term, “Scared to death,” is the timid emperor Louis of Bavaria, the son of Charlemagne, who
witnessed an unusually long total eclipse of the sun on May 5, A.D. 840, which lasted for over five minutes. But no sooner
had the sun begun to emerge back into view, Louis was so overwhelmed by what he had just seen that he died of fright!

Modern study of eclipses

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Astronomers have learned much by studying eclipses and by the 18th century, observations of solar eclipses were recognized
as providing veritable treasure troves of astronomical information, though sometimes getting that information wasn’t easy.

Samuel Williams, a professor at Harvard, led an expedition to Penobscot Bay, Maine, to observe the total solar eclipse of Oct.
27, 1780. As it turned out, this eclipse took place during the Revolutionary War, and Penobscot Bay lay behind enemy lines.
Fortunately, the British granted the expedition safe passage, citing the interest of science above political differences.

And yet in the end, it was all for naught.

Williams apparently made a crucial error in his computations and inadvertently positioned his men at Islesboro — just outside
the path of totality — likely finding this out with a heavy heart when the narrowing crescent of sunlight slid completely around
the dark edge of the moon and then started to thicken!

During a total solar eclipse, a few ruby-red spots may seem to hover around the jet-black disk of the moon. Those are solar
prominences, tongues of incandescent hydrogen gas rising above the surface of the sun. During the total eclipse of Aug. 18,
1868, the French astronomer Pierre Janssen trained his spectroscope on the prominences and discovered a new chemical
element. Two English astronomers, J. Norman Lockyer and Edward Frankland, later named it “helium,” from the
Greek helios (the sun). The gas was not identified on Earth until 1895.
And because sunlight is blocked during a total eclipse, some of the brighter stars and planets can be observed in the darkened
sky. Under such conditions astronomers were able to test part of Einstein’s now-celebrated general theory of relativity. That
theory predicted that light from stars beyond the sun would bend from a straight path in a certain way as it passed the sun.
The positions of stars photographed near the sun’s edge during a total eclipse on May 29, 1919, were compared with
photographs of the same region of the sky taken at night; the results strongly supported Einstein’s theory.
Our modern technology now allows astronomers to make most of the observations that once had to await an eclipse. But a
total eclipse of the sun will always remain among the most impressive of natural spectacles and is a sight that will always be
remembered. Be sure to put it on your bucket list; you will not be disappointed.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow. ... The only light reflected from
the lunar surface has been refracted by Earth's atmosphere. This light appears reddish for the same reason that a sunset or sunrise
does: the Rayleigh scattering of bluer light.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow.[1] This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon
are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy), with Earth between the other two. A lunar eclipse can occur only on the night of a full moon. The
type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to either node of its orbit.
During a total lunar eclipse, Earth completely blocks direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. The only light reflected from the lunar surface has
been refracted by Earth's atmosphere. This light appears reddish for the same reason that a sunset or sunrise does: the Rayleigh scattering of
bluer light. Due to this reddish color, a totally eclipsed Moon is sometimes called a blood moon.
Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on
the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly 2 hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only up to a few minutes at any given
place, due to the smaller size of the Moon's shadow. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or
special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full Moon.

Types of lunar eclipse

A schematic diagram of the shadowcast by Earth. Within the umbra, the central region, the planet totally shields direct sunlight. In contrast, within
the penumbra, the outer portion, the sunlight is only partially blocked. (Neither the Sun, Moon, and Earth sizes nor the distances between the bodies are to
scale.)

A total penumbral lunar eclipse dims the Moon in direct proportion to the area of the Sun's disk covered by Earth. This comparison of the Moon (within the
southern part of Earth's shadow) during the penumbral lunar eclipse of January 1999 (left) and the Moon outside the shadow (right) shows this slight darkening.

Earth's shadow can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. Earth totally occludes direct solar radiation within the umbra,
the central region of the shadow. However, since the Sun's diameter appears about one-quarter of Earth's in the lunar sky, the planet only
partially blocks direct sunlight within the penumbra, the outer portion of the shadow.
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through Earth's penumbra. The penumbra causes a subtle dimming of the lunar
surface. A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral lunar eclipse, during which the Moon lies exclusively within Earth's
penumbra. Total penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, the portion of the Moon closest to the umbra may appear slightly darker
than the rest of the lunar disk.
A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters Earth's umbra, while a total lunar eclipse occurs when the entire Moon
enters the planet's umbra. The Moon's average orbital speed is about 1.03 km/s (2,300 mph), or a little more than its diameter per hour, so
totality may last up to nearly 107 minutes. Nevertheless, the total time between the first and the last contacts of the Moon's limb with Earth's
shadow is much longer and could last up to four hours.[2]
The relative distance of the Moon from Earth at the time of an eclipse can affect the eclipse's duration. In particular, when the Moon is
near apogee, the farthest point from Earth in its orbit, its orbital speed is the slowest. The diameter of Earth's umbra does not decrease
appreciably within the changes in the Moon's orbital distance. Thus, the concurrence of a totally eclipsed Moon near apogee will lengthen the
duration of totality.
A central lunar eclipse is a total lunar eclipse during which the Moon passes through the centre of Earth's shadow, contacting the antisolar
point. This type of lunar eclipse is relatively rare.

Selenelion

A view of the October 2014 lunar eclipse from Minneapolis, with the setting and partially eclipsed Moon appearing squashed just above the horizon just
after sunrise (seen as sunlight shining on the tree in the right image)

A selenelion or selenehelion occurs when both the Sun and an eclipsed Moon can be observed at the same time. This can occur only just
before sunset or just after sunrise, when both bodies will appear just above the horizon at nearly opposite points in the sky. This arrangement
has led to the phenomenon being also called a horizontal eclipse.
Typically, a number of high ridges undergoing sunrise or sunset can view it. Although the Moon is in Earth's umbra, both the Sun and an eclipsed
Moon can be simultaneously seen because atmospheric refraction causes each body to appear higher in the sky than their true geometric
positions.[3]

Timing

As viewed from Earth, the Earth’s shadow can be imagined as two concentric circles. As the diagram illustrates, the type of lunar eclipse is defined by the path
taken by the Moon as it passes through Earth’s shadow. If the Moon passes through the outer circle but does not reach the inner circle, it is a penumbral
eclipse; if only a portion of the moon passes through the inner circle, it is a partial eclipse; and if entire Moon passes through the inner circle at some point, it
is a total eclipse.
Contact points relative to the Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows, here with the Moon near is descending node

The timing of total lunar eclipses are determined by its contacts:[4]

P1 (First contact): Beginning of the penumbral eclipse. Earth's penumbra touches the Moon's outer limb.
U1 (Second contact): Beginning of the partial eclipse. Earth's umbra touches the Moon's outer limb.
U2 (Third contact): Beginning of the total eclipse. The Moon's surface is entirely within Earth's umbra.
Greatest eclipse: The peak stage of the total eclipse. The Moon is at its closest to the center of Earth's umbra.
U3 (Fourth contact): End of the total eclipse. The Moon's outer limb exits Earth's umbra.
U4 (Fifth contact): End of the partial eclipse. Earth's umbra leaves the Moon's surface.
P4 (Sixth contact): End of the penumbral eclipse. Earth's penumbra no longer makes contact with the Moon.

Danjon scale
The following scale (the Danjon scale) was devised by André Danjon for rating the overall darkness of lunar
eclipses:[5]
L=0: Very dark eclipse. Moon almost invisible, especially at mid-totality.
L=1: Dark eclipse, gray or brownish in coloration. Details distinguishable only with difficulty.
L=2: Deep red or rust-colored eclipse. Very dark central shadow, while outer edge of umbra is relatively bright.
L=3: Brick-red eclipse. Umbral shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim.
L=4: Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse. Umbral shadow is bluish and has a very bright rim.

Lunar versus solar eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at new moon, when the Moon is between Earth and
the Sun, while a lunar eclipse occurs at night at full moon, when Earth passes between the
Sun and the Moon.
The Moon does not completely darken as it passes through the umbra because Earth's
atmosphere refractssunlight into the shadow cone.

There is often confusion between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse. While both
involve interactions between the Sun, Earth, and the Moon, they are very different
in their interactions.

Lunar eclipse appearance

In a lunar eclipse, the Moon often passes through two regions of Earth's shadow: an outer
penumbra, where direct sunlight is dimmed, and an inner umbra, where indirect and much
dimmer sunlight refracted by Earth's atmosphere shines on the Moon, leaving a reddish
color. This can be seen in different exposures of a partial lunar eclipse, for example here
with exposures of 1/80, 2/5, and 2 seconds.

The Moon does not completely darken as it passes through the umbra because of
the refraction of sunlight by Earth's atmosphere into the shadow cone; if Earth had
no atmosphere, the Moon would be completely dark during the eclipse.[6] The
reddish coloration arises because sunlight reaching the Moon must pass through
a long and dense layer of Earth's atmosphere, where it is scattered.
Shorter wavelengths are more likely to be scattered by the air molecules and small
particles; thus, the longer wavelengths predominate by the time the light rays have
penetrated the atmosphere. Human vision perceives this resulting light as red.
This is the same effect that causes sunsets and sunrises to turn the sky a reddish
color. An alternative way of conceiving this scenario is to realize that, as viewed
from the Moon, the Sun would appear to be setting (or rising) behind Earth.

From the Moon, a lunar eclipse would show a ring of reddish-orange light surrounding a
silhouetted Earth in the lunar sky.
The amount of refracted light depends on the amount of dust or clouds in the
atmosphere; this also controls how much light is scattered. In general, the dustier
the atmosphere, the more that other wavelengths of light will be removed
(compared to red light), leaving the resulting light a deeper red color. This causes
the resulting coppery-red hue of the Moon to vary from one eclipse to the next.
Volcanoes are notable for expelling large quantities of dust into the atmosphere,
and a large eruption shortly before an eclipse can have a large effect on the
resulting color.

Christopher Columbus predicting a lunar eclipse.

Lunar eclipse in culture

Several cultures have myths related to lunar eclipses or allude to the lunar eclipse
as being a good or bad omen. The Egyptians saw the eclipse as a sow swallowing
the moon for a short time; other cultures view the eclipse as the Moon being
swallowed by other animals, such as a jaguar in Mayan tradition, or a three legged
toad in China. Some societies thought it was a demon swallowing the Moon, and
that they could chase it away by throwing stones and curses at it.[7] The Greeks
were ahead of their time when they said the Earth was round and used the shadow
from the lunar eclipse as evidence.[8] Some Hindus believe in the importance of
bathing in the Ganges River following an eclipse because it will help to
achieve salvation.[9]

Incans
Similarly to the Mayans, the Incans believed that lunar eclipses occurred when a
jaguar would eat the Moon, which is why a blood moon looks red. The Incans also
believed that once the jaguar finished eating the Moon, it could come down and
devour all the animals on Earth, so they would take spears and shout at the Moon
to keep it away.[10]

Mesopotamians
The ancient Mesopotamians believed that a lunar eclipse was when the Moon was
being attacked by seven demons. This attack was more than just one on the Moon,
however, for the Mesopotamians linked what happened in the sky with what
happened on the land, and because the king of Mesopotamia represented the
land, the seven demons were thought to be also attacking the king. In order to
prevent this attack on the king, the Mesopotamians made someone pretend to be
the king so they would be attacked instead of the true king. After the lunar eclipse
was over, the substitute king was made to disappear (possibly by poisoning).[10]

Chinese
In some Chinese cultures, people would ring bells to prevent a dragon or other
wild animals from biting the Moon.[11] In the nineteenth century, during a lunar
eclipse, the Chinese navy fired its artillery because of this belief.[12] During the Zhou
Dynasty in the Book of Songs, the sight of a red Moon engulfed in darkness was
believed to foreshadow famine or disease.[13]
 Blood moon
See also: Blood Moon Prophecy

Change to reddish cast

Certain lunar eclipses have been referred to as "blood moons" in popular articles
but this is not a scientifically-recognized term.[14] This term has been given two
separate, but overlapping, meanings.
The first, and simpler, meaning relates to the reddish color a totally eclipsed Moon
takes on to observers on Earth.[15] As sunlight penetrates the atmosphere of Earth,
the gaseous layer filters and refracts the rays in such a way that the green to violet
wavelengths on the visible spectrum scattermore strongly than the red, thus giving
the Moon a reddish cast.[16]
The second meaning of "blood moon" has been derived from this apparent
coloration by two fundamentalist Christian pastors, Mark Blitz and John
Hagee.[14][17] They claimed that the 2014–15 "lunar tetrad" of four lunar eclipses
coinciding with the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles matched the "moon
turning to blood" described in the Book of Joel of the Hebrew Bible.[17] This tetrad
was claimed to herald the Second Coming of Christand the Rapture as described
in the Book of Revelation on the date of the first of the eclipses in this sequence on
April 15, 2014.

Lunar eclipses occur in pairs with solar eclipses, two weeks apart. This is because the Earth, sun and moon must be aligned
for an eclipse to occur, and the alignment can only happen twice during the moon's month-long orbit.

A lunar eclipse lasts for hours as the moon slowly orbits through the Earth's shadow.
If the moon passes through the edge of Earth's shadow, it's called a partial eclipse. Passage through the dense center of the
shadow is a total lunar eclipse.
Four Blood Moons: A Tetrad Of Lunar Eclipses Explained | Video
A sequence of four total lunar eclipses including no partial eclipses is called a tetrad. In 2014-2015, four lunar eclipses will
occur. This sequence features eclipses on April 15, 2014; Oct. 8, 2014; April 4, 2015 and Sept. 27, 2015.

Earth's shadow is red at the edges for the same reason a sunset is red: When sunlight is scattered by passing through Earth's
atmosphere, the other colors of the spectrum are removed.
In a solar eclipse, the moon casts its shadow on Earth. The darkest part of the moon's shadow – the umbra — is no more
than 166 miles wide (267 kilometers) on the surface of the Earth.
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Because the orbit of the moon is tilted relative to the orbit of Earth, eclipses can't happen at every new and full moon. The
shadow cones pass “above” or “below” the moon and Earth most of the time. Only at two points during the year do the sun,
Earth and moon line up properly to allow for eclipses.
A lunar eclipse is visible to anyone who can see the moon, which usually means half of the Earth at a time. In a total solar
eclipse, the moon's shadow passes directly over only a narrow strip on the Earth's surface. Observers in a larger area can
see the sun partially eclipsed.
 Eclipses are a fascinating part of our universe and they are often
exciting events around the world. Learn more about the different
types of eclipses with Rainbow Symphony today!

 Solar Eclipse*
 A solar eclipse is when the sun is covered by the Moon.
There are four types of solar eclipses.
 Partial eclipse
 In a partial eclipse, the Moon crosses the path of the sun,
but does not completely block it out. The umbral shadow of the
Moon misses the Earth, and only its penumbral shadow hits us.
We end up seeing a sun that looks like a bite has been taken out
of it.
 Annular eclipse
 An annular eclipse, from the word annulus (ring), occurs
when the Moon completely covers the center of the sun, but it
leaves the edges uncovered. There is a bright ring of the sun still
visible in these cases.
 Total Eclipse
 When the Moon totally covers the sun, you get a total
eclipse. Since the Moon is many times smaller than the sun, a
total eclipse can only occur when its orbit falls very close to the
Earth. In a total eclipse, you get to see the sun’s stunning corona.
 Hybrid Eclipse
 A relatively rare event, a hybrid eclipse is when one part of
the Earth sees an annular eclipse, while another part of the Earth
sees a total eclipse.
 Lunar Eclipse
 A lunar eclipse can only occur on a Full Moon when the
Moon passes through a portion of Earth’s shadow. The next few
lunar eclipses fall on Jan 31, 2018, July 27, 2018, and January
21, 2019.
 Total Eclipse
 When the entire Moon passes through Earth’s shadow you
get a total lunar eclipse. The effects are especially striking, as
often the Moon will look like it has taken on a red color.
 Partial Eclipse
 In a partial eclipse, a portion of the Moon passes through
Earth’s umbral shadow. Visible to the naked eye, you’ll see that
part of the Moon looks like it’s in total darkness.
 Penumbral Eclipse
 Very difficult to spot, a penumbral eclipse is when the Moon passes through Earth’s penumbral shadow.
 Planetary Transits
 While Venus and Mercury are the only planets close enough to Earth for us to see a planetary transit, when they
cross the disk of the sun, it’s a special kind of eclipse.
 Transits of Venus
 Transits of Venus generally occur in pairs, but each the first of the pair is generally eight years before
the second. More than a century could pass before another pair occurs.
 Transits of Mercury
 There are about 13 transits of Mercury that occur each century. The next time Mercury will cross the
disk of the sun will be November 11, 2019. We won’t see another until 2032.
Rainbow Symphony loves exploring our universe and teaching others about its wonders. Next time a solar, lunar, or planetary
eclipse occurs, track it with eclipse glasses and other accessories from our collection.

*Important note: Solar eclipses should not be viewed with the naked eye.
 The Different Types of Eclipses
 A solar eclipse is when the sun is covered by the Moon. There are four types of solar eclipses.
 Partial eclipse. In a partial eclipse, the Moon crosses the path of the sun, but does not completely block it out. ...
 Annular eclipse. ...
 Total Eclipse. ...
 Hybrid Eclipse.