Explain why the moon appears red during an eclipse

Explain why the moon appears red during an eclipseThe moon rotates in an elliptical path around the planet Earth, and at the same time the earth rotates in its orbit around the sun, and during this movement coincides with the presence of the earth between the sun and the moon, so the shadow of the planet blocks the sunlight from the moon, so a lunar eclipse occurs, and this astronomical phenomenon occurs only when The moon is full, that is, when it is fully lit; Then the moon is in one (ideal) straight line with the sun and the earth

Lunar eclipse

This phenomenon occurs when the full moon is in conjunction, which is the point at which the moon, the sun, and the earth are in an intermediate state, so at this point the moon appears partially dark when it enters the shadow region on the earth, and this shadow is divided into three parts, a partial shadow region and a partial shadow region, And a completely dark area. In three cases, the solar eclipse occurs on the surface of the moon, as this phenomenon can be seen with the naked eye from the surface of the earth, and a more accurate explanation is provided to obtain the phenomenon of the solar eclipse; The moon revolves around the earth in a different orbit from the earth’s orbit around the sun. As for the moon, in this phenomenon the moon cannot be seen with the naked eye from the surface of the earth.

Explain why the moon appears red during a solar eclipse

The phenomenon of the red moon, and it can be called the phenomenon of the giant bloody wolf moon or the wolf moon, because this phenomenon is to make the moon appear red, and it is considered a strange phenomenon, so the answer is as follows

  • This phenomenon occurs with a total lunar eclipse, when the earth descends between it and the sun, creating the earth’s shadow on the moon, which leads to a total lunar eclipse.

forms of lunar eclipses

Lunar eclipses occur in three cases, for reasons that we will explain

  • Total lunar eclipses This phenomenon is rare. This phenomenon occurs when the moon falls entirely in the shadow of the earth, that is, its extent is one and the earth is in the middle of that range. In general, when this phenomenon occurs, the earth blocks the sun’s rays and the colors emitted from them. With the exception of the red color that the moon reaches, and therefore the moon appears red in this phenomenon, for a lunar eclipse to occur, and for this type to occur, the moon must be in the location of the full moon.
  • Partial lunar eclipses A partial lunar eclipse can occur twice a year, and this phenomenon is not as rare as a total solar eclipse. As a result, parts of the Moon are obscured by Earth’s shadow.

The reasons for the different duration of the lunar eclipse

Astronomers link the duration of the lunar eclipse in all its forms to several factors, namely

  • The distance of the moon from the earth It is known that the moon revolves around the earth in an elliptical direction, and therefore it sometimes approaches it and sometimes moves away from it because, according to scientists, this is the shortest distance to the moon is the surface of the earth 356000 km, then the moon appears at its maximum width, and when the moon is full it is called The giant moon, and its brightness increases, but from the point of view of the eclipse, this is the shortest possible time for the eclipse of the sun, and vice versa when it is farthest from the earth, i.e. 406,000 km, and this is the full moon, and it will be the longest period of the eclipse.
  • The orbit of the moon in the shadow of the earth These are the cases in which a partial lunar eclipse occurs and the duration of the eclipse is less than the duration of the total lunar eclipse. July 2022 when the eclipse lasted 1 hour 43 minutes and the shortest eclipse of 2014 occurred – just 1 hour 4 minutes.

In conclusion, this article answers the question of why the moon appears red during eclipses, and the reasons for the different periods of lunar eclipses and the forms of lunar eclipses are also discussed.

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