Single Row 5

A Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. This can only occur on the night of a full Moon and when the Sun, Earth and Moon are very closely aligned. A Total Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Moon falls entirely within the Earth's Umbra – the innermost and darkest part of its shadow.

The Earth’s atmosphere refracts the Sun's white light in such a way that the shorter wavelengths of light, the Greens through to the Purples, are scattered away more strongly than the longer wavelengths at the redder end of the spectrum. The moon passes through this faint remaining red light, giving it a stunning reddish colour cast.

From top-right to bottom-left, this shorter sequence first shows the red totally eclipsed Moon, then the redness fading as the Moon exits the Earth’s shadow, and the Sun's bright rays once again illuminate its surface, starting with the thin crescent at the bottom, and gradually increasing over the next 2 hours until the full Moon was bright overhead again.