In-depth: Lunar eclipse During a lunar eclipse, Earth gets in the way of the Sun’s light hitting the Moon. That means that during the night, a full moon fades away as Earth’s shadow covers it up. The Moon can also look reddish because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs the other colours while it bends some sunlight toward the Moon. Sunlight bending through the atmosphere and absorbing other colours is also why sunsets are orange and red. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is shining from all the sunrises and sunsets occurring on Earth! Solar eclipse A solar eclipse happens when the Moon gets in the way of the Sun’s light and casts its shadow on Earth. That means during the day, the Moon moves over the Sun and it gets dark. Isn’t it strange that it gets dark in the middle of the day? This total eclipse happens about every year and a half somewhere on Earth. A partial eclipse, when the Moon doesn’t completely cover the Sun, happens at least twice a year somewhere on Earth.
