STAGES OF A LUNAR ECLIPSE

1)  Moon enters penumbra and shadow begins to appear.

2)  Moon enters umbra.  The Moon now begins to cross into the Earth's              dark central shadow, called the umbra.  A small dark scallop begins to          appear on the Moon's left-hand side.

3)  When 75% of the Moon is eclipsed, that part that is immersed in the              shadow, begins to very faintly light up.  similar to a piece of iron heated        to the point where it just begins to glow.  Colors at this stage vary greatly      from one eclipse to the next.  Reds and grays usually predominate, but          sometimes brown, blues and other tints are encountered.  Tonight,                  mostly reds and browns.

4)  When the last of the moon enters the shadow, the total eclipse begins.            Sometimes the Moon almost disappears and at other times it will glow a        bright orange as it did this time.  Sunlight is scattered and refracted              around the edge of the Earth by our atmosphere, allowing us to see the          moon during a total eclipse.  Because of the recent eruptions of the                  volcano in Iceland last spring and the volcano in Indonesia in October,          some dust may still be floating high above the Earth.  As a result, the              Moon appeared darker than usual last night.

5)  The Moon and Earth's orbit begin to move the shadow away from the            Moon and eclipse reverses it pattern.

An interesting fact; the temperature on the Moon drops over 500 degrees F during the eclipse.

There will not be another Super Moon Eclipse until 2033.