What is a Total Lunar Eclipse?
A total lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that involves the sun, the earth and the moon.
The sun illuminates the earth creating a shadow cone that is projected through the space.
In some ocations the moon moves into this shadow and stops receiving light directly from the sun for a while.
The earth shadow has a zone called penumbra where only some light is obstructed and a zone called umbra that is completely obstructed from sun light. When the moon enters the penumbral shadow there is a slight reduction in it's brightness. This is very hard to see with naked eye, whit fotographic techniques it can be registered. When it goes through the umbral shadow the moon looses bright until it gets red colored. If the earth had no atmosphere the moon would turn completely black, but due to the refraction of the light through the atmosphere it gets the red color. You can say the moon is being illuminated by all dawns and sunsets of the world at that moment.
During the night of february 21, 2008 the moon will pass through the umbra producing a total lunar eclipse. The times of the event can be seen in the next picture (Universal Time).
