Lunar Eclipse

I've seen a Lunar Eclipse, have you?

So what's the big deal?  We have them all the time, I mean a little shadow covers the moon, how exciting is that? 

Yeah, yeah. The Moon travels completely in Earth's shadow. Been there, done that. The Earth is bigger so of course there will be a shadow.

So there are like, lunar eclipses all over the moon all the time right? 

Ummmm, not exactly....

Lunar Eclipses' don't occur every month because the Earth is tilted and the Moon is tilted about 5 degrees opposite from the Earth's tilt. So, they aren't naturally, perfectly in a line, in space. 

Oh?  So how often are there Lunar Eclipses?

About 3 to 4 times a year there will be a Lunar Eclipse. When this occurs only people on the night side of the Earth will be able to see it.  The last Lunar Eclipse was the "Super Blood Wolf Moon" on January 20-21, 2019.

The "Super Blood Wolf Moon"?  The Super moon is when the full moon happens when the Moon is closest to the Earth during its orbit.  The super moon is supposed to appear bigger than the moon does at other times because of its closeness to Earth.

The Blood part refers to the color of the Moon when it enters the shadow of the Earth, it appears to be a rusty, reddish color.  Scientists believe this is caused by the Earth's atmosphere and the light waves reflecting off the moon creating this color to our sight. 

And the Wolf part?  Well, every January full moon is known as a Wolf Moon because of an old folklore story. I like that name for January's full moon, in March its called the "Worm" moon...and worms are gross.

A Lunar Eclipse is pretty cool, even though they aren't as rare as a Solar Eclipse.

Here is the total Super Blood Wolf Moon eclipse in 8 seconds:

Maybe right now, at your stage in life an eclipse isn't really cool.  But when you get older, I think you will be amazed by them and they will bring memories of standing, on a cold night with a blanket wrapped around you, or on a warm night with the cool grass under your bare feet, with a telescope and family members or friends trying to get a glimpse of the eclipse. 

It's kind of comforting to have this type of pattern happen in space every year.  We know for sure that one will come. The rest of space?  There is SO much to learn and SO much is unknown.  That's kind of scary. 

I think you will enjoy this short 3 minute video about a Lunar Eclipse: