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Glossary term: 月食

Description: 當月球進入地球的陰影時，就會發生月食。隻有當地球位於太陽和月球之間，並且太陽、地球和月球幾乎排成一列直綫時，纔會發生。因此，月食隻能發生在滿月之夜。當月球完全進入地球的陰影之中時，發生的是月全食。當月球僅有一部分被地球陰影覆蓋時，發生的是月偏食。月食的類型和持續時間，取決於月食發生時月球在其繞地球公轉軌道上的精確位置。

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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval

This is an automated transliteration of the simplified Chinese translation of this term

The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".

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Two astronomers view a lunar eclipse. Between them in the partly cloudy sky, a series of bright circles trace a curved path

The Eclipse Between Us, by Muhammad Rayhan, Indonesia

Caption: Second place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Total lunar eclipse. Total lunar eclipses belong to the rather spectacular celestial events and can be observed easily with and without a telescope. Here we see the stages of the total lunar eclipse of 31.1.2018 photographed in Indonesia: starting with the entry of the full moon disk into Earth's round umbra, the totality as Blood Moon, and the beginning of the Moon's exit from Earth's umbra until moonset.
Credit: Muhammad Rayhan/IAU OAE

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons 姓名標示 4.0 國際 (CC BY 4.0) icons


The Moon behind jagged, snowy mountains. The lower two thirds of the Moon are darker and redder than the upper third

The eclipsed Moon sets near the Rochetta di Prendera, Dolomiti Unesco, by Alessandra Masi, Italy

Caption: First place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Total lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon moves into the Earth`s shadow. This is the case when the Sun, Earth and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned. The reddish light reflected from the lunar surface is caused by sunlight that has been refracted on its way through Earth´s atmosphere in the direction of the Moon. It appears reddish because of the Rayleigh scattering of bluer light. The round shape of the Earth's shadow visible on the lunar surface was a proof for Aristotle that the Earth must be a sphere. This photo shows the eclipsed Moon that sets near the Rochetta di Prendera, Dolomiti Unesco, Italy, on 21 January 2019.
Credit: Alessandra Masi/IAU OAE

License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons 姓名標示 4.0 國際 (CC BY 4.0) icons

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