212k views
3 votes
5. Why doesn't the moon turn black during a total lunar eclipse? Explain your answer

The Seasons Are Shifting
In recent years, there has been a lot of chatter about climate on Earth. In fact, some
scientists believe that climate change is affecting and altering the traditional concept of the
four seasons we have now. After reading the article, do some research on your own to bett
understand seasons and how they are changing.
When you are ready, respond to the following questions:

Do you think climate change is affecting our seasons? Why or why not?
Do you believe that simply redefining the Calendar of the seasons is a viable solution?
Why or why not?
Share the research you found that supports your position.

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The moon doesn't turn black during a total lunar eclipse because the Earth's atmosphere scatters and filters the sunlight, allowing mainly red wavelengths to reach the moon.


Step-by-step explanation:

The moon does not turn black during a total lunar eclipse because of the Earth's atmosphere. During a lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the moon and the sun, blocking the sunlight from directly reaching the moon's surface. However, some of the sunlight gets refracted through the Earth's atmosphere and reaches the moon, causing it to appear red or coppery in color.

The Earth's atmosphere scatters and filters the sunlight, allowing mainly the longer red wavelengths to reach the moon. This phenomenon is similar to the way the sky appears red or orange during sunrise or sunset.

To summarize, the moon appears red during a total lunar eclipse due to the scattering and filtering of sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere, which allows only the longer red wavelengths to reach the moon.


Learn more about lunar eclipse

User Anarhikos
by
8.0k points