L = 3: Brick red eclipse where the umbral shadow has a yellow or bright rim. The Moon is relatively dark at totality, but easily visible. L = 2: Deep red or rusty eclipse at totality, with a dark central shadow but a bright outer edge. L = 1: Dark eclipse in which the details of Moon are hard to distinguish and the Moon appears brown or gray at totality. When people imagine what a lunar eclipse looks like, this is probably what they envision. L = 0: Dark lunar eclipse where the Moon becomes nearly invisible at totality. A total penumbral eclipse can precede or follow a total umbral eclipse.Īll lunar eclipses don't look the same! Andre Danjon proposed the Danjon scale to describe the appearance of a lunar eclipse: The eclipse lasts longest when the Moon is at its furthest point or apogee. How long the eclipse lasts depends on how close the Moon is to the Earth. This type of lunar eclipse occurs about 35% of the time. Total Lunar Eclipse - Generally when people talk about a total lunar eclipse, they mean the type of eclipse where the Moon travels fully into the Earth's umbra. The part of the Moon falling within the umbral shadow dims, but the rest of the Moon remains bright. Partial Lunar Eclipse - When part of the moon enter the umbra, a partial lunar eclipse occurs. Partial penumbral eclipses occur more often, but they tend not to be very well publicized because they are difficult to see. In this type of eclipse, the dimming of the Moon is directly proportional to the area of sunlight blocked by the Earth. The Moon may appear gray or golden and may almost completely disappear at totality. In a total penumbral eclipse, the full moon is entirely shadowed by the Earth's penumbra. During this type of lunar eclipse, the portion of the Moon that is eclipsed appears darker than the rest of the Moon. Penumbral Eclipse - A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's penumbral shadow. In a lunar eclipse, the color of the Moon (refracted light) depends on the alignment between the Sun, Earth, and Moon. The penumbra gets light because the Sun has such a large angular size the sunlight isn't totally blocked. The penumbra is dim, but not completely dark. The umbra is the portion of the shadow that has no solar radiation and is dark. The Earth's shadow consists of two parts. The type of lunar eclipse depends on how much of the Earth's shadow covers the Moon. The shadow of the Earth falls across the face of the Moon. Ron Miller/Stocktrek Images / Getty ImagesĪ lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon. A diagram illustrating how eclipses are created.
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