Sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere turns the Moon reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse. Click on image for full size (30K JPEG) Eclipse photo courtesy Andy Steere; diagram courtesy NASA/Tony Phillips.

There will be a total lunar eclipse on Wednesday night, October 27, 2004. The Earth's shadow will darken the Moon for more than three and a half hours, while the "total eclipse phase" will span a period of about 80 minutes. If you live in the eastern part of North America, the middle of the eclipse occurs around 11 P.M.

Just in time for Halloween, the Moon will turn a very pumpkin-like orange or red during the eclipse. The copper hue of the Moon during an eclipse is caused by red light refracting through Earth's atmosphere and lighting the Moon.

Earth's shadow has two parts: a lighter outer ring, and an inner, darker circle. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon passes through both sections of this shadow, so there are several different stages to the eclipse. The link to NASA's page about this eclipse (below) provides details about the times of the different stages for viewers in various locations.

Sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere turns the Moon reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse. Click on image for full size (30K JPEG) Eclipse photo courtesy Andy Steere; diagram courtesy NASA/Tony Phillips.

There will be an eclipse of the Moon on Wednesday night, October 27, 2004 (or during the wee hours of the morning on the 28th if you are in Europe or Africa). This eclipse is a total eclipse of the Moon, which means the Moon will pass through the darkest part of Earth's shadow.

During the eclipse, the Moon will turn into a "pumpkin moon" - just in time for Halloween! Earth's shadow makes the Moon dark during an eclipse. However, even the darkest part of Earth's shadow lets a little light through. The light that does get through passes through Earth's atmosphere, which scatters away any light that isn't red. That's why the Sun looks red at sunset, too.

The main part of the eclipse will last about 80 minutes. Check out the link to NASA's site (below) to find out when the eclipse can be seen from where you live.

Sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere turns the Moon reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse. Click on image for full size (30K JPEG) Eclipse photo courtesy Andy Steere; diagram courtesy NASA/Tony Phillips.

There will be an eclipse of the Moon on Wednesday night, October 27, 2004 (or the morning of the 28th if you are in Europe or Africa). The shadow of the Earth will fall on the Moon, and the Moon will get dark!

The Moonwill not be so dark that you can't see it. The Moon will be dark orange or red, not black. Some sunlight goes through Earth's atmosphere and lights the Moon a little bit. Only orange and red light gets through, so the Moon looks orange or red. The Moon will be orange like a Halloween pumpkin!

The main part of the eclipse is about 80 minutes long. Want to know if you can see the eclipse where you live? Look at the link to NASA below to find out when to look for the eclipse.