Lunar Eclipse
The lunar eclipse is an event
when half or all of the moon is covered by the shadow of the earth. It happens
when the earth is between the sun and the moon in the same straight line, so
that the sun's rays can not reach the moon because it is blocked by the earth.
With another explanation, the lunar eclipse appears when the moon is in
opposition to the sun. The moon takes 29.53 days to move from one point of
opposition to another. So it should, if there is a lunar eclipse, will be
followed by the sun eclipse because both nodes are located on the line that
connects between the Sun and the earth.
Actually, when a lunar eclipse is
going on, the moon can still be seen. This is because there is still a sunlight
that is deflected into the moon by the earth's atmosphere. And most of these
deflected rays have a spectrum of red light. That is why at the time of the
lunar eclipse, the moon will look dark, can be red copper, orange, or brown.
The lunar eclipse can be observed
with the naked eye and it is not harmful at all.
When the lunar eclipse is in
progress, Muslims who see or know the eclipse are recommended to pray (shalat
khusuf).
The types of lunar eclipses
Moon Eclipse can be divided into
three name:
• Total lunar eclipse is divided
into 2:
- Total negative lunar eclipse:
In this eclipse, the moon will be right in the NTT area and the moon color
becomes red but uneven.
- Total positive lunar eclipse:
In this eclipse, the moon passes through the center point of the umbra area and
the moon's color becomes evenly red.
• Partial lunar eclipse
In this eclipse, the earth is not
entirely blocking the moon from the sun. While the other half of the surface of
the moon is in the penumbra area. So there is still some sunlight that reaches
the surface of the moon.
• Penumbra lunar eclipse
In this eclipse, all parts of the
moon are in the penumbra. So the moon can still be seen with a gloomy color.
