What is Lunar Eclipse ?

Impressive lunar eclipses don't happen every day (or every night, to be more specific), but with the links below, you can find out when the next one will be visible in your area.

Lunar eclipse photography is a popular pastime. Many enthusiasts will travel to distant locales to be on hand for eclipses that aren't visible in their own hometowns. Methods like multiple or long exposures can be used to take pictures of a lunar eclipse.

The moon may turn red or coppery colored during the total portion of an eclipse. The red moon is possible because while the moon is in total shadow, some light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon. While other colors in the spectrum are blocked and scattered by Earth's atmosphere, red light tends to make it through easier. The effect is to cast all the planet's sunrises and sunsets on the moon.

The moon has been Earth's trusty sidekick for billions of years. And as it endlessly cruises around our planet, once in a while this scrappy satellite precisely aligns within Earth's shadow, taking on an eerie, reddish glow.

Lunar eclipses are among the easiest skywatching events to observe. Simply go out, look up and enjoy. You don't need a telescope or any other special equipment. However, binoculars or a small telescope will bring out details in the lunar surface — moonwatching is as interesting during an eclipse as anytime. If the eclipse occurs during winter, bundle up if you plan to be out for the duration — an eclipse can take a couple hours to unfold. Bring warm drinks and blankets or chairs for comfort.

Interest in astronomy stretches back to the Stone Age. Ancient civilizations in Greece, China and Babylonia were fascinated by the celestial events unfolding across the skies above them.

If you want to photograph the next lunar eclipse, be sure to check out our guide by veteran astrophotographers Imelda Joson and Edwin Aguirre.

Records of eclipses exist in their writings, giving us glimpses of how previous cultures described and interpreted these astronomical happenings. For example, Yuanshi (History of the Yuan Dynasty) details the timing of a total lunar eclipse on May 19, 1277 in traditional double-hours and marks

"We can get really good science out of what happens to the surface of the moon during total lunar eclipses but again, the cool thing is that the moon changes color," Noah Petro, a research scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, told Space.com. "It's something fun to see — it's benign, but it's a change. And anytime we see change in the skies it's always kind of exciting."

Chinese astronomers used their findings to eventually help predict eclipses with startling precision. In addition, records like the ones detailing lunar eclipses can help pinpoint when, where and how major historical events occurred.

when solar and lunar eclipses took place -- especially when they corresponded to major happenings back on Earth. Typically, they regarded solar eclipses and lunar eclipses as unlucky omens, a frightening sight when either occurred.

In some cases, eclipses impacted the course of history. For example, a lunar eclipse that occurred during the Peloponnesian War enabled the Syracusan army to defeat the Athenians.

The eclipse, as both omen and event, greatly frightened and unnerved the Athenian soldiers and sailors so they postponed their intended retreat from Syracuse . This delay gave the Syracusan army time to destroy the Athenian forces.

In 1504, Christopher Columbus played a nasty trick on the native people of Jamaica. He used his knowledge of an impending lunar eclipse -- derived from an almanac -- to scare them into continuing to provision his stranded crew.

Columbus pretended his God was angry at their lack of cooperation and that was the cause of the moon's dramatic "disappearance." As soon as the panicked native people brought food and supplies, God "forgave" them and the moon returned to normal.

Lunar eclipses occur when Earth's shadow blocks the sun's light, which otherwise reflects off the moon.

Throughout history, eclipses have inspired awe and even fear, especially when total lunar eclipses turned the moon blood-red, an effect that terrified people who had no understanding of what causes an eclipse and therefore blamed the events on this god or that. Below, you'll find the science and history of lunar eclipses, learn how they work, and see a list of the next ones on tap.

These eclipses are actually remarkably simple considering how interesting and dynamic they can be.

It's important to note that lunar eclipses don't occur during every full moon because of two factors.

The first has to do with the variations in the orbital planes between the sun, Earth and the moon.

The rotational layout of the sun and Earth forms an ecliptic plane between the two celestial bodies.

he occurrence of a lunar eclipse also depends on whether the moon is in the full moon phase when it reaches a node. So the second factor to note is that as the moon orbits the Earth, it doesn't complete its full cycle from new moon to new moon as quickly as it returns to the ecliptic plane, creating a disparity between the two occurrences.

There are three types of lunar eclipses. Penumbral lunar eclipses are difficult to see and occur when the moon grazes or passes through the penumbral shadow only. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when a portion of the moon is obscured by the umbra.

The moon fully enters the umbral shadow during a total lunar eclipse.

The time the moon spends encased in the umbra is called totality. If you hear someone referring to the length of totality of a lunar eclipse, they're talking about the middle phase of the overall event.