What’s a total lunar eclipse?
A total lunar eclipse can last from minutes to hours.
It occurs when the Earth passes in between the sun and the moon, blocking out the sun’s light.
Unlike during a solar eclipse — when the moon casts a shadow on the Earth as it moves between the Earth and the sun — a lunar eclipse is safe to look at with the naked eye.
Why does the moon turn red?
Although we think of sunlight as being white or yellow, it’s actually made up of a spectrum of different colours.
This is why when sunlight hits water droplets in the air under certain conditions, it creates a rainbow, as the light is broken up into its individual parts.