The first lunar eclipse of 2021 is going to happen during theearly hours of May 26.
So what does this all mean?
Credit: Tomruen/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA
Whats a super moon?
Asupermoon occurswhen a full or new moon coincides with the Moons closest approach to the Earth.
The Moons orbit around Earth is not perfectly circular.
This means the Moons distance from Earth varies as it goes around the planet.
A full moon thathappens near the perigee is called a supermoon.
So why is it super?
The phases of the Moon correspond to how much of the litup side you could see from Earth.
Credit: Orion 8/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA
How does a lunar eclipse work?
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A lunar eclipse happens when the Earths shadow covers all or part of the Moon.
Like the Earth, half of the Moon is illuminated by the sun at any one time.
A full moon happens when the Moon and the Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth.
If the Moon had a totally flat orbit, every full moon would be a lunar eclipse.
But the Moons orbit is tilted by about5 degrees relative to Earths orbit.
This results in atotal lunar eclipse.
Why does the moon look red?
When the Moon is completely covered by Earths shadow it will darken, but doesnt go completely black.
Sunlight contains all colors of visible light.
This is calledRayleigh scattering, and its why thesky is blue and sunrises and sunsets are often red.
This leaves the moon with apale reddish hue during an eclipse.
Hopefully, you will be able to go see this super lunar eclipse.
When you do, now you will know exactly what makes for such a special sight.
