Behind the March 3rd Total Lunar Eclipse

Narration: Noah Petro

Transcript:

On March 3rd, we're going to be treated to a spectacular show in the sky in the form of a total lunar eclipse. So your first question might be, well, what is a total lunar eclipse? Well, basically what happens when the Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth, the shadow of the Earth and the Moon will pass directly into it. Now you might think, well, why doesn't this happen every month? Well, some months the Moon passes a little too high or a little too low. When we get an eclipse, the Moon is just right and passes directly into and through the shadow of the Earth. And so in this unique alignment where the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun are exactly aligned, we have a treat to see the Moon turn this beautiful red color. Really, what we're seeing is a projection of every sunrise and sunset on to the surface of the Moon. And when you see the Moon turn that red color, try to picture yourself standing on the lunar surface or flying above the surface of the Moon looking back. And what you would see is this wonderful view of an entirely dark Earth with just this beautiful red ring around it, every sunrise and every sunset coming out into space to greet your eye. And so we're very fortunate that over the past decade plus, we've had an instrument orbiting the Moon measuring the surface of the Moon. And during past eclipses, we've actually been able to measure how quickly the lunar surface cools during an eclipse. Now, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft will be orbiting the Moon during this eclipse. We're going to be powering down the spacecraft to preserve its battery. But just know when you look at a lunar eclipse, not only are you seeing the color change, but the surface is actually cooling down quite a bit as well. Imagine you're going from the hot heat of a stove to the deep cold of a freezer, and that change is occurring on the surface as well. And so this is a wonderful opportunity to remind ourselves of not only what we get to see during the eclipse, but what astronauts will get to see as they fly by the Moon on Artemis II. Fortunately for Artemis II astronauts, they're going to have an opportunity to see the far side of the moon. Depending on when they launch, they'll actually have a view of the lunar surface that humans haven't had since 1972. SCHMITT: It's some of the striking country on the far side of the Moon that human beings don't very often have a chance to see, but a trend that started in the last few years and I suspect it will continue. Well, keep in mind that when astronauts are flying over the far side of the Moon, the far side phase of the Moon is the exact opposite as the phase of the Moon that we see. So when we see a full Moon, the far side of the Moon is illuminated. As you go out on March 3rd, and you look at our beautiful Moon, keep in the back of your mind, the four astronauts will soon have a perspective on the Moon that we have not had for several generations, and they'll be looking back at us, looking up at the Moon.