Time-lapse: A total lunar eclipse
It's a total eclipse of the Moon.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Here we see the first stages of a lunar eclipse. It may take two hours for the Moon to pass through the Earth's shadow, a distance of about 5,000 miles, or about 8,000 kilometers.
At totality in a full eclipse, when the Earth's shadow completely covers the Moon, the only light that reaches the Moon is that which filters through the Earth's atmosphere like we often see at sunset. This can make the Moon turn red.
As the eclipse ends, notice the rounded shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon. Unlike the monthly phases of the Moon, an eclipse casts the same rounded shadow. This helped to convince the ancient Greeks that the Earth was spherical.
The Moon orbits the Earth about once every month, yet lunar eclipses do not occur at monthly intervals. That's because the Moon's orbit may pass above or below the Earth's shadow, not just through it.
At totality in a full eclipse, when the Earth's shadow completely covers the Moon, the only light that reaches the Moon is that which filters through the Earth's atmosphere like we often see at sunset. This can make the Moon turn red.
As the eclipse ends, notice the rounded shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon. Unlike the monthly phases of the Moon, an eclipse casts the same rounded shadow. This helped to convince the ancient Greeks that the Earth was spherical.
The Moon orbits the Earth about once every month, yet lunar eclipses do not occur at monthly intervals. That's because the Moon's orbit may pass above or below the Earth's shadow, not just through it.