Facts About Lunar Eclipses

A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow on the Moon.

Lunar eclipses only occur at a full moon, and only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon line up closely enough.

There are three types: total (the Moon fully enters Earth's dark umbra), partial, and penumbral (the Moon passes through Earth's faint outer shadow).

On August 28, 2026, a deep partial lunar eclipse will see about 96% of the Moon slip into Earth's umbra, visible across most of the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

During a total lunar eclipse the Moon often turns red — the 'blood moon' — because sunlight bent through Earth's atmosphere is stripped of blue light, leaving red to fall on the Moon.

In effect, the red glow of a blood moon is the light of all the world's sunrises and sunsets projected onto the Moon at once.

Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is completely safe to watch with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope.

A total lunar eclipse can last much longer than a solar one — totality can stretch well over an hour.

Lunar eclipses are visible from anywhere on the night side of Earth, so far more people can see them than a given solar eclipse.

There are usually two to four lunar eclipses each year, though not all are total.

The exact shade of a blood moon varies from bright orange to deep brick-red depending on dust, clouds, and volcanic ash in Earth's atmosphere.

Christopher Columbus reportedly used his foreknowledge of a 1504 lunar eclipse to frighten Indigenous people into giving his stranded crew supplies.

Ancient Greek thinkers used the curved shadow Earth casts on the Moon during eclipses as evidence that the Earth is round.

A 'Blood Moon' that coincides with a supermoon (the Moon near its closest point to Earth) makes the eclipsed Moon appear especially large and vivid.

Because the geometry repeats, eclipses recur in an 18-year, 11-day cycle known as the saros.