Eclipse is a special astronomical phenomenon, which means that when the moon moves to the shadow of the earth, the area between the moon and the earth will be blocked by the earth because of the sunlight, and the moon will be missing. That is to say, at this time, the sun, the earth and the moon are exactly or almost on the same straight line between the sun and the moon, so the light from the sun to the moon will be blocked by the earth. As far as the earth is concerned, when an eclipse occurs, the directions of the sun and the moon will be different by 180 degrees. Ancient solar eclipse records can sometimes be used to infer the age of historical events. The ancient superstition in China was also called "dogs eat the moon". Eclipses can be divided into three types: partial eclipse, total eclipse and penumbral eclipse. When the whole moon enters the umbra, a total lunar eclipse will occur; But if only a part of it enters the umbra, only a partial lunar eclipse will occur. Total lunar eclipse and partial lunar eclipse are umbra eclipses.

During the total lunar eclipse, the moon is not completely invisible, because sunlight is refracted into the umbra when it passes through the thin atmosphere of the earth, and projected onto the surface of the moon, making the surface of the moon appear red copper. According to the path of the moon passing through the umbra and the atmospheric conditions of the earth at that time, the luminosity will be different in different total lunar eclipses.

Sometimes the moon does not enter the umbra, but only enters the penumbra. This is called a penumbral eclipse. During the penumbral eclipse, the moon will darken slightly, but its edge will not be blocked by the shadow of the earth. But you must watch the total lunar eclipse at night. The probability of watching a lunar eclipse is much smaller than that of watching a solar eclipse.

There is also a story about the solar eclipse:/kloc-At the beginning of the 6th century, Columbus sailed to Jamaica in South America and had a conflict with the local aborigines. Columbus and his sailors were trapped in a corner, without food and water. The situation is very critical. Knowing that there would be a total lunar eclipse that night, Columbus, who knew something about astronomy, shouted to the natives, "No food, no moonlight!" " In the evening, Columbus's words came true, and there was no moonlight. When the natives saw this scene, they were afraid, so they quickly made peace with Columbus.