New Delhi, February 23 (IANS). A lunar eclipse is a beautiful astronomical phenomenon, which occurs four to seven times a year. During this time the Earth, Moon and Sun come in a straight line. The Moon’s orbit is slightly inclined to the Earth’s orbit, so eclipses do not occur every full moon, but only occasionally.
Lunar eclipse occurs on the full moon day, while solar eclipse occurs on the new moon day. In a lunar eclipse, the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon, due to which the Moon appears blurry or red. This eclipse is visible from half of the Earth. These incidents are a unique presentation of nature. Can be seen without any equipment in clear skies.
The first lunar eclipse of the year 2026 is on March 3, which will be a total lunar eclipse or blood moon. At the same time, the second lunar eclipse is on 28th August. This will be a partial lunar eclipse. There are three main types of lunar eclipse. These include total lunar eclipse, partial lunar eclipse and penumbral lunar eclipse.
In a total lunar eclipse the Moon completely passes into the Earth’s deep shadow (umbra). Sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere reaches the Moon. Blue and violet light are scattered more, while red and orange are transmitted directly. Therefore the moon appears red or orange in color, which is called blood moon. The more dust or clouds in the atmosphere, the darker the red color appears. This eclipse may last for several hours.
Blood Moon is a name for a total lunar eclipse. Sunlight appears white, but it has many colors. At sunset or sunrise, more red light reaches because blue light gets scattered. The same happens in lunar eclipse also. Light passing through the Earth’s atmosphere falls on the Moon, as if all the sunrises and sunsets in the world are being projected onto the Moon simultaneously. This is why the moon looks red.
Partial lunar eclipse: When the Moon passes just a part of the Earth’s shadow, the shadow grows but does not cover the Moon completely, and then retreats.
Penumbral lunar eclipse: When the Earth, Sun and Moon come in a straight line and the Moon goes into the outer light shadow (penumbra) of the Earth, then a penumbral lunar eclipse occurs. During this period the Moon looks very light or blurry and sometimes is not visible.
-IANS
MT/VC
