A lunar eclipse unfolds when Earth intercepts some or all of the Sun's direct light aimed at the moon. This celestial phenomenon occurs exclusively during a full moon, which is every 29.5 days, the duration of the moon's orbit around Earth. You might wonder why doesn't an eclipse happen every month? It's because the moon's orbit tilts a few degrees compared to Earth, preventing a perfect alignment of the Earth, moon, and Sun each month. When alignment does occur, Earth casts two types of shadows on the moon, the penumbra, a feintor, larger shadow, and the umbra, a smaller but darker shadow. There are three kinds of lunar eclipses. A total lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and moon align perfectly, and the moon falls entirely within Earth's umbral shadow. This type is the most visually stunning, turning the moon a dramatic sunset red. This effect is due to Earth's atmosphere scattering the shorter blue wavelengths of light, while bending the longer red wavelengths towards the moon. The intensity of this red glow varies with the amount of atmospheric dust and clouds. Volcanic ash, for example, can darken the moon to a deeper red or nearly black. The second type, a partial lunar eclipse, occurs when the Earth, moon, and Sun are not perfectly aligned, leaving only part of the moon to wander into Earth's umbral shadow. This results in a dark shadow on the segment of the moon facing Earth. A penumbra lunar eclipse, the third type, happens when the moon moves through Earth's penumbra shadow. This subtle event often goes unnoticed, with the moon appearing merely a shade darker than usual. Lunar eclipses can happen up to three times a year, observable from anywhere on Earth's nighttime side. Unlike solar eclipses, watching a lunar eclipse with the naked eye is safe. The unique positioning of the Sun and Moon relative to Earth gives us the sight of total lunar eclipses. With the moon slowly drifting away from Earth each year, a distant future awaits where it will be too far to be completely shadowed by Earth. Until that EPEC arrives, we're fortunate to occasionally witness our planet's shadow over the night sky's largest beacon.