When the moon rises above the horizon on August 7, it is in the shadow that the earth throws into space. The moon, however, stands on the edge of that shadow and will therefore continue to absorb part of the sunlight. The moon has a red glow because the blue in the sunlight that is on its way to the moon is scattered by the atmosphere.
Category: Lunar eclipse
We have selected the best photos of the blood moon. They are below. A carefully selected jury has selected a winner. Two other photos submitted will receive an honorable mention. The jury consisted of: Klaus Nygaard, editor-in-chief of the Danish magazine Digital Photo Karen Grubbe, The space expert of Science in Focus Christian Ammitzbøll Juul, editor of the 'Starry Sky' section in Science in Focus.
ABOUT THE BLOOD MOON A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth and moon are in line with the earth in the middle. Because the moon does not circle around the earth in exactly the same plane as the earth around the sun, eclipses do not occur every month, but several times a year. During a lunar eclipse, the earth blocks the sunlight that normally falls on the moon.
What is a lunar eclipse? At the end of July a total lunar eclipse takes place shortly after sunset. This phenomenon occurs when the sun and the moon are in line with the earth in between. When the moon slides into the shadow of the earth, the sunlight is blocked and the moon becomes dark.
When the moon rises above the horizon on August 7, it is in the shadow that the earth throws into space. The moon, however, stands on the edge of that shadow and will therefore continue to absorb part of the sunlight. The moon has a red glow because the blue in the sunlight that is on its way to the moon is scattered by the atmosphere.
1. Incas: a jaguar swallowed the moon According to the Incas, the moon turned blood red when a jaguar attacked it and put its teeth into it. But the greedy cat didn't have enough on the moon: the myth wanted him to come to earth to engulf all people and animals. To drive away the predator, the Incas made a noise.
The moon turns blood red during a lunar eclipse. That is because the blue and green light are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere and only the red light reaches the moon. So there is plenty to see during a lunar eclipse - in contrast to a solar eclipse, where the sun only goes 'on black'.
A full lunar eclipse occurs on September 28. Amateur astronomers can indulge, but the so-called blood moon has an important added value for scientists. Lunar Eclipse is General Rehearsal An international research team uses the lunar eclipse as a kind of general rehearsal to find life on exoplanets - planets that orbit stars other than the sun.
Almost imperceptibly, a so-called penumbral lunar eclipse takes place on 16 September from 6:53 pm. The moon then passes through the outer part of the Earth's shadow, the side shadow, or penumbra. Moon seems weaker than normal A penumbral eclipse is a subtle event, and you need to look carefully to see it.