Victor Ortega RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The moon is set to turn a dark-red color in an astronomical event called a Total Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday.
Hyun-Chul Lee, department of physics and astronomy senior lecturer, said lunar eclipses happen when the moon passes through the earth’s shadow. In contrast to a solar eclipse where the moon passes through the sun and Earth.
Lee explained this turns the moon into a “blood” color.
“[The] full moon goes into the Earth’s shadow, and then, during the lunar eclipse, some of the red light passes through Earth’s atmosphere and goes to the surface of the moon,” Lee said. “Just very similar to the phenomenon [where] we see [a] red sky during the sunrise or sunset.”
Other major differences between solar and lunar eclipses include its duration and visibility.
Juan Madrid, department of physics and astronomy associate professor, said lunar eclipses can be seen with the naked eye, just like how you would normally observe the moon at night.
Madrid added unlike solar eclipses, which last a couple of minutes, lunar eclipses last over a span of hours.
“When the moon is going to appear fully red, it’s going to last for about two hours,” Madrid said.
This astronomical event suits preferably an early bird’s schedule, as it’s set to take place early in the morning.
Lee recommended individuals to go outside in half-hour intervals starting at 4:30 a.m. through 6 a.m. to experience the moon slowly shifting to a blood color.
