In anticipation of the upcoming lunar eclipse later this month,
NASA has released a new video that shows how lunar eclipses
work. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) team will release
another video next week focusing on the role of LRO during the
eclipse. LRO has been providing the most detailed imagery of the
moon since it launched in 2009. On June 15 2011, viewers outside
of North America will be able to see the lunar eclipse. From
beginning to end, the eclipse will last from 17:24 UTC (1:24
p.m. EDT) to 23:00 UTC (7:00 p.m. EDT). Totality, the time when
Earth's shadow completely covers the moon, will last about an
hour and 41 minutes. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth lines up
directly between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's rays
and casting a shadow on the moon. As the moon moves deeper and
deeper into Earth's shadow, the moon changes color before your
very eyes, turning from gray to an orange or deep shade of red.
The moon takes on this new color because indirect sunlight is
still able to pas