- A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon align with the moon passing into the Earth’s shadow, according to NASA.
- A similar action causes our sky to appear blue and sunsets red. The phenomenon, called Rayleigh scattering, occurs as light travels in waves, with blue light having a shorter wavelength and scattering more easily in the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Red light travels more directly through the Earth’s atmosphere, NASA explains, causing the sun to appear red, orange, or yellow at sunset when the light must pass through more atmosphere and travel farther.
