Lunar eclipses are special events that only occur when certain conditions are met. First of all, the Moon must be in <a href="/the_universe/uts/moon3.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">full phase</a>. Secondly, the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Sun</a>, <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Earth</a> and <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Moon</a> must be in a perfectly straight line. If both of these are met, then the Earth's shadow can block the Sun's light from hitting the Moon. The reddish glow of the Moon is caused by light from the Earth's limb scattering toward the Moon, which is reflected back to us from the Moon's surface.<p><small><em>Image credit - Doug Murray, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida</em></small></p>How did life evolve on <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Earth</a> during the <a href="/earth/past/Archean.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Archean</a>, when the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Sun</a> was about 25% weaker than today? The Earth should have been <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">glaciated</a>, if <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">greenhouse</a> gas concentration was the same as today. <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=10798">Researchers</a> studying the <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/isotope.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">isotopic</a> signatures of Earth's early atmosphere in <a href="/earth/geology/rocks_intro.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">rocks</a> from Northern Australia have ruled out high levels of <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/nitrogen_molecular.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">nitrogen</a> as a possible way to increase warming from <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">atmospheric</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">carbon dioxide</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Manchester University</em></small></p>A group of Emperor penguins wait their turn to dive into the ocean near <a href="/people/postcards/jean_pennycook_11_29_0.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Ross Island, Antarctica</a> on November 3, 2004. Emperor penguins routinely dive to 500 meters in search of food. Scientists are interested in understanding how they can endure the stress of these dives in such an <a href="/earth/extreme_environments.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">extreme environment</a>.<p><small><em> Image courtesy of Emily Stone, National Science Foundation</em></small></p><p>Something on Earth is always burning! NASA's Earth Observatory tracks wildfires across the world with <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MOD14A1_M_FIRE" target="_blank">maps available for viewing</a> from 2000-present. Some wildfires can restore <a href="/earth/ecosystems.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">ecosystems</a> to good health, but many can threaten human populations, posing a natural disaster threat.</p> <p>Check out the materials about natural disasters in <a href="/earth/natural_hazards/when_nature_strikes.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">NBC Learn Videos</a>, and their earth system science connections built up by the related secondary classroom activities.</p><p><small><em>NBC Learn</em></small></p>There are over 900 <a href="/the_universe/uts/megalith.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">rings of stone</a> located in the British Isles. The most famous of these stone rings is of course, <a href="/the_universe/uts/stonehenge.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Stonehenge</a>. The stones of Stonehenge were put in place between 3,000 B.C and 2,000 B.C. by neolithic people.Some speculate that the site was built as a temple of worship of the ancient Earth deities. Some say it was used as an <a href="/the_universe/uts/stonehenge_astro.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">astronomical observatory</a> of sorts. Still others say it was a burial ground.<p><small><em> Image courtesy of Corel Photography.</em></small></p>This dramatic view of Jupiter's <a href="/jupiter/atmosphere/J_clouds_GRS.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Great Red Spot</a> and its surroundings was obtained by <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=high&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/h/neptune/k=/teacher_resources/rain">Voyager 1</a> on Feb. 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud details as small as 100 miles (160 kilometers) across can be seen here. The colorful, wavy cloud pattern to the left of the Red Spot is a region of extraordinarily complex end variable wave motion.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>


Attention Educator Member Teachers! Go to our special offers page for information about attractive upcoming professional development events next year. Not an Educator Member? Join Today!
Check out resources from our Affiliates!

Global locations of visitors using this page right now

Welcome to Windows to the Universe - your portal to discovery! Explore the wealth of information available here to learn about the Earth and Space sciences and related topics in the humanities including mythology, art, poetry, and more.

Our mobile website version is available now on your phone's web browser and give us feedback.

NEW Subscription Opportunities for Educators and their Students! - Classroom, School, and District Subscription Options.

Windows to the Universe Professional Development - On-site, in your school - find out more about this opportunity here. Information about our upcoming workshops and events is available on our Teacher Resources/Workshops page.

Mysterious Clouds Produced by Aircraft

Without meaning to, airplanes can cause certain types of clouds to produce snow or rain and can leave behind odd-shaped holes or channels in the clouds ...Read more
Brought to you by NSF

Clouds in Art

Landscape painters have been representing clouds in their art for centuries. Different artists with different styles have painted clouds differently. Check out the Clouds in Art Interactive ...Read more
Brought to you by CMMAP

Modeling Space Weather

Computer models help scientists study all aspects of space weather. Models help us understand activity on the Sun, the flow of the solar wind in space, and planetary magnetospheres ...Read more
Brought to you by CISM

What Controls the Climate?

Some factors that have an affect on climate, like volcanic eruptions and changes in the amount of solar energy, are natural. Others, like the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, are caused by humans ...Read more

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System. This giant ball of hydrogen and helium gas is large enough to contain more than 1,000 Earths. Dozens of moons circle the 5th planet from the Sun ...Read more

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Buried Treasure!

Tlaloc

Tlaloc was an important deity of rain and fertility in the Aztec mythology. Aztec people were living...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA