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(Music)

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For those that don't know, LRO is the 

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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It's a NASA spacecraft that's been orbiting the moon since

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June of 2009. Taking take high resolution pictures of the surface,

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measuring the precise topography of the lunar surface, thermo physicall 

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properties of the surface, the radiation environment, the abundance of hydrogen 

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on the surface; basically creating a high-resolution 3D archive 

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the properties of the surface of the moon.

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An eclipse 

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is a unique event that happens few times every year. It's

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when the Earth the moon and the sun are in precise alignment. So during a lunar eclipse

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Earth passes between the moon and the sun and the Earth's shadow is cast upon the surface 

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of the moon. So it looks like the moon disappears into darkness for 

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a brief period of time. They're special because they only happen a few times every year 

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and you have to be in a very special location on the surface of the earth to be able to see it,

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so not everybody gets to see an eclipse when they happen.

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(music)

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So on April 15, there's going to be a lunar eclipse, it's going to happen very

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early in the morning and it's going to be a total lunar eclipse, so the moon will pass 

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completely into the shadow of the earth. And as it does that 

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the moon will appear a certain hue of red which is the projection 

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of all of the sunsets on the earth projected onto the surface of the moon. It's going to be 

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quite spectacular and very beautiful. What we see in this animation is a re-creation of

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LRO orbiting the moon during the upcoming eclipse. When the moon passes

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into the Earth's umbra, or the Earth's shadow that's when it is completely 

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blocked from the sun, and we see the effective Earth's sunsets being projected onto

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lunar surface that's why it turns a hue of red. When the moon comes out of the 

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Earth's umbra it begins to look, as we've always seen it, this beautiful, 

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bright, grey orb in the sky.

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(music)

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So the eclipse is going to effect LRO in one very important way. LRO's

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batteries are charged by solar energy, and so during the eclipse the moon and the 

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LRO spacecraft are going to be in darkness for a very long period of time, so the battery won't get

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recharged. So we're going to be turning off all of the instruments on LRO so we don't

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drain the battery. We'll be monitoring real-time. how the battery

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is doing during the eclipse but we won't be making any scientific observations during 

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this eclipse. When the spacecraft comes out of the eclipse the battery will slowly 

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charge back up again and then we can turn the instruments back on.

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(music)

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The best way to prepare for this eclipse is to first find out when it's going 

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to be happening in your local area, and then find an area that is 

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free of obstructions; tall trees, buildings, in an open field that has 

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a clear view of the sky. Bring a chair, something warm to keep you 

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comfy during the night hours and prepare yourself for 

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a beautiful show.

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(beeping)

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