Lunar eclipse

The Earth’s shadow creeps across the moon during a total lunar eclipse Feb. 20. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth in its orbit around the sun gets between the sun and the moon. The shadow from the Earth then drifts across the moon, eventually covering it in a total eclipse. Sometimes, atmospheric conditions during the total eclipse are such that the moon appears to change to a burnt orange color, from which the phrase ‘blood moon’ was derived. However, during the Feb. 20 eclipse, clouds in the area sometimes blocked the celestial show. According to Sky and Telescope magazine, the next total lunar eclipse in the United States won’t occur until December 20, 2010.