The Lunar Eclipse this time was on the 14th day of the Chinese Lunar New year. We watched it from our front steps in the cold night. Lu Lei managed to take some pictures. It is quite something to witness it and to know that the next one will only be in 2010.
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. There is always a full moon the night of a lunar eclipse.
You will notice in the last 2 photos that the moon looks red in colour. It was when the moon was in total eclipse (where the earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon) but indirect sunlight still managed to reach and illuminate it. However, this sunlight must first pass deep through the Earth's atmosphere which filters out most of the blue colored light. The remaining light is a deep red or orange in color and is much dimmer than pure white sunlight.
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