Behind the March 3rd Total Lunar Eclipse
On March 3, Earth's shadow will cast the Moon into dark, reddish shadow. But...what's actually happening during a total lunar eclipse? Dr. Noah Petro explains what causes eclipses, why we don't have them every month, and how @NASA prepares our spacecraft and astronauts to study the Moon from every angle.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Producer
- Ryan Fitzgibbons (eMITS)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Project support
- Kathryn Mersmann (NASA/GSFC)
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Scientist
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Noah Petro
(NASA/GSFC)
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Noah Petro
(NASA/GSFC)
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Animator
- Dan Gallagher (eMITS)
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Visualizer
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Ernie Wright
(USRA)
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Ernie Wright
(USRA)
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Videographer
- Rob Andreoli (eMITS)
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Lighting
- John D. Philyaw (eMITS)
Sources
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Animation - ID: 14938
![Artemis II visualization lead Ernie Wright explains how his data-driven animations are helping astronauts to prepare for a historic flyby of the Moon.Complete transcript available.Universal Production Music: “Black Cloud” and “Magic Trick” by Hugo Dubery [SACEM] and Philippe Galtier [SACEM]; “Connecting Ideas” by Christopher Timothy White [PRS]; “Transitions” by Ben Niblett [PRS] and Jon Cotton [PRS]Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel and Facebook.](/vis/a010000/a014900/a014938/Artemis-Sci-Wright-A2Sim-Thumbnail.jpg)
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Visualization
Release date
This page was originally published on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
This page was last updated on Friday, February 27, 2026 at 2:53 PM EST.