Lunar eclipse coming this weekend. Watch the partial Hunter’s Moon eclipse, live.
This lunar eclipse is visible from Europe, Africa, Asia, parts of Australia, and a small area of North and South America.
An eclipse occurs when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body. Let’s learn about the two types of eclipses on Earth.
What is a Lunar Eclipse?
The Moon moves in an orbit around Earth. At the same time, Earth orbits the Sun. Sometimes Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the Moon. (This sunlight is what causes the Moon to shine.) Instead of light hitting the Moon’s surface, Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon. This is an eclipse of the Moon or a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse can occur only when the Moon is full.
A lunar eclipse can be seen from Earth at night. There are two types of lunar eclipses:
- Total lunar eclipse.
- Partial lunar eclipse.
Images credit NASA
