The Longest Total Lunar Eclipse In Over 100 Years Is About To Color The Moon Blood Red

A total lunar eclipse, also know as a blood moon, is set to take place on the night of July 27th and the morning of July 28th!

The eclipse will take on an orange-red hue due to sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere and bouncing off the moon. This eclipse will be the longest in about a century, lasting nearly one hour and forty-three minutes!

North America will not be able to view this eclipse, since the moon will dip below the horizon, but there are several live video streams from around the world that anyone can watch!

Earth will pass between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on our ancient orbiting friend.

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Here’s how a total lunar eclipse colors the moon red…

Total solar eclipses and total lunar eclipses are very similar, yet opposite things. During a solar eclipse, the moon passes between earth and the sun to cast its shadow on our lonely planet.

The shadow lacks color because the moon does not have an atmosphere. The gases in the atmosphere scatter and refract sunlight.

Earth, obviously, has an atmosphere which causes total lunar eclipses to take on a different color than the total solar eclipses.