A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the
Earth into its umbra (shadow). This can occur only when the Sun,
Earth, and Moon are aligned (in "syzygy") exactly, or very
closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse
can only occur the night of a full moon. The type and length of
an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its
orbital nodes. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed
from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar
eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the
Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total
solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place,
due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow. Also unlike solar
eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye
protection or special precautions, as they are no brighter
(indeed dimmer) than the full moon itself. Types of lunar
eclipse The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two
distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. W