A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth comes between the moon and the sun and no sunlight reaches the moon. This phenomenon occurs on full moon days. But not every full moon has a lunar eclipse because the Earth has a 5 degree inclination between the path of the Sun and the path of the Moon around the Earth. Therefore, these paths collide only at two points. They are nodes
During a lunar eclipse, the earth blocks light from the sun. The total amount of light reaching the moon is only sunlight (refraction) orbiting the Earth’s atmosphere. We see them reflected from the moon and from the earth.
The red moon during a lunar eclipse is known as the Blood Moon.
How does the moon turn red during this eclipse?
Scattering is the phenomenon of light being reflected by small particles. White light contains many colors. Multicolored but light rays of different wavelengths. The amount of diffusion experienced by these different colors is different. Violet, blue, and green have more scattering than orange and red. This is known as rail diffusion. Then as light travels farther through the atmosphere, the blue color scattering in the dust particles becomes more diffused and only red is seen. This is also the reason why the sky turns red in the evening and in the morning.
Dispersion varies according to the amount of dust particles in the atmosphere. Thus, during an eclipse, the lunar surface appears pale red or crimson. The red of the moon also changes as air pollution increases. Lunar eclipses can be seen with the naked eye because there is no strong and harmful light.
Don’t rejoice at the red of the blood moon, it’s a sign that it’s time for a rethink!
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