#LUNAR CYCLE DIAGRAM FULL#

However, because the Earth also orbits the Sun at the same time, the Moon needs a few extra days to travel a bit further and catch up to end up back in line with the Earth and Sun and complete a lunar phase cycle (synodic month) which takes 29.5 days. What’s going on? The Moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Moon and come back to where it began circling (sidereal month). Have you ever noticed that the Moon is constantly moving across the Earth’s sky, but it looks different depending on when in the month you are looking at it? In a lunar eclipse, the Moon gets darker.Why does the Moon appear to change shape? The name tells you what gets darker when the eclipse happens. An easy way to remember the difference is in the name. It’s easy to get these two types of eclipses mixed up. If you live on the nighttime half of Earth when the eclipse happens, you’ll be able to see it. Unlike solar eclipses, lots of people get to see each lunar eclipse. This diagram is not to scale: the Moon is much farther away from Earth than shown here.īecause they don’t happen every month, a lunar eclipse is a special event.

This is why we don’t get a lunar eclipse every month. In this diagram, you can see that the Moon’s orbit around Earth is at a tilt. The Moon can be behind Earth but still get hit by light from the Sun. The Moon’s path around Earth is tilted compared to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. It’s true that the Moon goes around Earth every month, but it doesn’t always get in Earth’s shadow. You might be wondering why we don’t have a lunar eclipse every month as the Moon orbits Earth. Why don’t we have a lunar eclipse every month? The Moon appeared a reddish color during a total lunar eclipse on Jan. Sunlight bending through the atmosphere and absorbing other colors is also why sunsets are orange and red.ĭuring a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is shining from all the sunrises and sunsets occurring on Earth! The Moon can also look reddish because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs the other colors while it bends some sunlight toward the Moon.

#LUNAR CYCLE DIAGRAM FULL#

That means that during the night, a full moon fades away as Earth’s shadow covers it up. SUNGLASSES DO NOT WORK, EVEN IF YOU STACK MANY OF THEM TOGETHER.ĭuring a lunar eclipse, Earth gets in the way of the Sun’s light hitting the Moon. To view a solar eclipse, use special solar viewing glasses. Never look directly at the Sun, even for a second! It will damage your eyesight forever!

On average, the same spot on Earth only gets to see a solar eclipse for a few minutes about every 375 years! You also have to be in the path of the Moon’s shadow. You have to be on the sunny side of the planet when it happens. The Moon’s shadow on Earth isn’t very big, so only a small portion of places on Earth will see it. Getting a chance to see a total solar eclipse is rare. Credit: NASA/MSFC/Joseph Matusīut not everyone experiences every solar eclipse. This image was captured in Hopkinsville, Kentucky during the 2017 eclipse. A partial eclipse, when the Moon doesn’t completely cover the Sun, happens at least twice a year somewhere on Earth.Ī total solar eclipse was visible over the continental United States on Aug. This total eclipse happens about every year and a half somewhere on Earth. Isn’t it strange that it gets dark in the middle of the day? That means during the day, the Moon moves over the Sun and it gets dark. What’s the difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse?Ī solar eclipse happens when the Moon gets in the way of the Sun’s light and casts its shadow on Earth. You need an iFrames Capable browser to view this content.

Lunar cycle diagram