During a total lunar eclipse, Earth’s shadow falls directly on the moon. Our atmosphere scatters blue light but lets red light pass through, giving the moon its distinctive blood-red color. It’s a natural light show that happens only when the sun, Earth, and moon line up perfectly.

Ernie Wright, a science visualizer at NASA, explains why the moon turns red during a lunar eclipse. Wright also explains how the eclipse would look from the moon in this interview with Space.com's Chelsea Gohd. Credit: Space.com | Animation: NASA/GSFC ...