Lunar Eclipse over Cerro Tololo in Chile

Lunar Eclipse over Cerro Tololo in Chile

A total lunar eclipse as viewed from Cerro Tololo in Chile during March 2025. Cerro Tololo is located at an altitude of 2,200 meters above sea level.

This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned with Earth between the other two. During these rare events, the full Moon rapidly darkens and then glows red as it enters the Earth's shadow. A small amount of indirect sunlight is still reaching the Moon, passing through Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a reddish hue. This light appears reddish due to the Rayleigh scattering of blue light—the same reason sunrises and sunsets are more orange than during the day.

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/O. Smékal
Release Date: May 14, 2025

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