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The gravitational pull of the moon and the rotational force of the Earth cause tides to rise and fall across the planet. The species living in coastal areas most affected by changing tides have unique ways of surviving.

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Please watch: "UNSWTV: Entertaining your curiosity" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ7UO8nxiL0 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Science of the Surf Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL50XnIfJxPDVqjkQ_JJhNPSM3g_8WKr4Q In this Episode 3, Dr Rob Brander from Science Of The Surf series talks about the complexities of tides. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

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Tides happen when the moon pulls the earths oceans towards it creating a bulge on one side. But it also pulls the earth towards it creating a bulge on the other side

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Tides are the alternate rising and falling of the sea, usually twice in each lunar day at a particular place, due to the attraction of the moon and sun.

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Lunar eclipses happen when Earth positions itself between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface.

They can only occur during a and are a popular event for skywatchers worldwide as they do not require any specialist equipment to enjoy (unlike solar eclipses).

In 2023, Earth will experience two lunar eclipses. The first lunar eclipse of 2023 was a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 5 and was visible across parts of Africa, Asia and Australia. The second and final lunar eclipse of 2023 will be a partial lunar eclipse on October 28 and will be visible across parts of E. Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia To find out when, where and how to see this year's lunar eclipses, check out our lunar eclipses 2023 guide.
Related: Night sky guide, what you can see tonight
What are lunar eclipses?

A lunar eclipse is caused by Earth blocking sunlight from reaching and creating a shadow across the lunar surface.

The sun-blocking Earth casts two shadows that fall on the moon during a lunar eclipse: The umbra is a full, dark shadow, and the penumbra is a partial outer shadow.

1. Total lunar eclipse: Earth's shadow is cast across the entire lunar surface.

2. Partial lunar eclipse: During a partial lunar eclipse, only part of the moon enters Earth's shadow, which may look like it is taking a "bite" out of the lunar surface. Earth's shadow will appear dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. How much of a "bite" we see depends on how the sun, Earth and moon align, according to NASA.

3. Penumbral lunar eclipse: The faint outer part of Earth's shadow is cast across the lunar surface. This type of eclipse is not as dramatic as the other two and can be difficult to see.

(Image credit: Future)

There are three types of lunar eclipses depending on how the sun, Earth and moon are aligned at the time of the event.

What happens during a lunar eclipse?

Why does the moon turn red during an eclipse?

During a total lunar eclipse, the lunar surface turns a rusty red color, earning the nickname " blood moon". The eerie red appearance is caused by sunlight interacting with Earth's atmosphere.

When sunlight reaches Earth, our atmosphere scatters and filters different wavelengths. Shorter wavelengths such as blue light are scattered outward, while longer wavelengths like red are bent - or refracted - into Earth's umbra, according to the Natural History Museum. When the moon passes through Earth's umbra during a total lunar eclipse, the red light reflects off the lunar surface, giving the moon its blood-red appearance.

"How gold, orange, or red the moon appears during a total lunar eclipse depends on how much dust, water, and other particles are in Earth's atmosphere" according to NASA scientists. Other atmospheric factors such as temperature and humidity also affect the moon's appearance during a lunar eclipse.

How often do lunar eclipses happen and how long do they last?

In astronomical terms, a lunar eclipse is a relatively common phenomenon, with about three lunar eclipses occurring every year, according to the National History Museum. Approximately 29% of lunar eclipses are total lunar eclipses, according to TimeandDate.com.

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

A total eclipse can be seen from any given location - on average - once every 2.5 years.

A lunar eclipse usually lasts a few hours according to the National Weather Service with totality (the duration of total obscuration of the moon) ranging between 30 minutes to over an hour.

Lunar eclipses are more easily observed than solar eclipses, as they can be viewed with the unaided eye by any observer situated where the moon is above the horizon.

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-via Kieth Burns)

(Reminder: Never look directly at the sun, even during a total solar eclipse, without protection such as verified eclipse glasses; serious and permanent eye damage can result.)

How to see a lunar eclipse

(Image credit: NASA)

Lunar eclipses are among the easiest skywatching events to observe.

To watch one, you simply go out, look up and enjoy. You don't need a telescope or any other special equipment. However, binoculars or a small telescope will bring out details on the lunar surface - moonwatching is as interesting during an eclipse as it is at any other time. If the eclipse occurs during winter, bundle up if you plan to be out for the duration - an eclipse can take a couple of hours to unfold. Bring warm drinks and blankets or chairs for comfort.

Scientists like to watch lunar eclipses, too.

"We can get really good science out of what happens to the surface of the moon during total lunar eclipses, but again, the cool thing is that the moon changes color," Noah Petro, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, told Space.com. "It's something fun to see - it's benign, but it's a change. And anytime we see [a] change in the skies, it's always kind of exciting."

If you hope to snap a photo of a lunar eclipse, here's our guide on How to photograph a lunar eclipse with a camera. And if you need imaging equipment, our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography have recommendations to make sure you're ready for the next eclipse.

What is a total lunar eclipse?

Why do lunar eclipses occur?

What's the difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse?

Lunar eclipse FAQs answered by an expert

We asked meteorologist Joe Rao, a few commonly asked questions about lunar eclipses.

Additional resources

Learn more about lunar phases and eclipses with NASA Science. Explore Hanwell Community Observatory's fact sheet for more lunar eclipse information. Discover why we don't have a lunar eclipse every month with the Rice Space Institute at Rice University.

Bibliography

NASA. Blood Red Moon: Total Lunar Eclipse. NASA. Retrieved May 10, 2022,

O'Callaghan, J. (2019, July 16). Lunar eclipse guide: What they are, when to see them and where. Natural History Museum. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

NASA. ( 2017, May 3). What is an Eclipse? NASA. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

Hocken, V., Kher, A. Total Lunar Eclipse. timeanddate.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

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What are lunar eclipses and how do they occur?

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Lunar eclipses occur when Earth blocks the sun and casts a shadow over the surface of the moon. We explore the different types of lunar eclipses here.

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Humans have recorded solar eclipses for millennia, and references to them can be found in some of humanity's earliest texts, such as ancient Chinese academic documents. Debate even swirls around a line from Homer's Odyssey-"The sun has been obliterated from the sky"-and whether it can be tied to a historic eclipse.

Through the ages, the sudden darkening of the sun has been seen as a signal of the displeasure of the gods or an omen of bad things to come. But once astronomers figured out how solar eclipses worked, they became events to be studied and celebrated.

Solar eclipses happen only during a new moon, when the lunar orb moves between Earth and the sun. However, because the moon orbits Earth at a slight angle, the three bodies will only periodically line up on the same plane to create a solar eclipse.

During a total solar eclipse, the moon is in just the right position to briefly cast a shadow on our planet. As the moon moves and Earth spins, this shadow races across the planet's surface at some 1,400 miles an hour, creating a relatively narrow line called the path of totality. Only sky watchers within this line-typically 10,000 miles long and just 100 miles wide-experience a total solar eclipse. People near it see only a partial solar eclipse, in which not all of the sun is blotted out, while those farther away see no change at all.

Seeing a solar eclipse can be an unforgettable experience, but experts urge caution. Looking directly at the sun with your naked eyes, or through unprotected telescopes or binoculars, can cause eye damage and even permanent blindness. Special eclipse glasses that filter out the sun's most damaging rays can allow you to view the phenomenon safely, as can instruments fitted with solar filters, or simple devices called pinhole cameras that let you see a solar eclipse indirectly.

Following the path of totality

A total solar eclipse begins as a barely perceptible nibble out of the sun. Over the next hour or so, the darkness spreads and eventually consumes the solar disk, turning day to night. This state, called totality, can last as long as seven and a half minutes, although it is usually less than that. During totality, some stars and planets become visible, the air temperature drops, and animals from insects to cows may change their behavior. This brief phase is the only time it's safe to look at an eclipse with your naked eyes.

The only visible part of the sun during totality is its corona, the faint and normally unseen outer atmosphere that shimmers in the darkness like a fiery ring. Astronomers can use solar eclipses to study the corona from the ground, gathering clues to its behavior that may one day help solve the mystery of why the sun's upper atmosphere is actually hotter than its surface.

In 1919 Sir Arthur Eddington's expedition to watch a total solar eclipse from the island of Príncipe, off the west coast of Africa, helped confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity. According to Einstein's work, gravity from massive objects should warp the fabric of spacetime and so bend light.

Eddington realized that a total solar eclipse would provide the perfect test bed for this prediction, since light coming from much more distant stars should get bent ever so slightly as it passes by the sun, and the eclipse would allow scientists to see stars close enough to the sun's edge to detect this minuscule change. The experiment was a success, and news of the result helped launch Einstein into scientific stardom.

Total solar eclipses are only visible on Earth because of a lucky coincidence: The moon's diameter and distance from Earth make its relative size just big enough to cover the sun's disk. If the moon were any smaller or farther away, we would see only partial eclipses. In fact, measurements of the distance between Earth and the moon show that our cosmic companion is slowly spiraling away from us, and in a billion years or so, the moon will have drifted so far from Earth that total solar eclipses will no longer occur.

In addition, the moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle, and its precise distance changes with each orbital cycle. Even today, sometimes the moon's apparent size is too small to fully cover the sun during an eclipse. When this happens, we see what's called an annular eclipse, also dubbed a ring of fire. In this case, the moon appears as a blackened circle surrounded by sunlight. Even during its total phase, it's not safe to view this kind of eclipse without proper eye protection.

Total solar eclipses occur every one or two years, on average, and partial and annular eclipses are only slightly more frequent. Because solar eclipses are visible from such a small area on Earth each time, the chance of observing one from any single spot is less than once in a lifetime.

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Solar Eclipses, Total Eclipse Information, News, Facts, Photos -- National Geographic

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Humans have recorded solar eclipses for millennia, and references to them can be found in some of humanity's earliest texts, such as ancient Chinese academic documents. Debate even swirls around a line from Homer's Odyssey -"The sun has been obliterated from the sky"-and whether it can be tied to a historic eclipse.

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There are eight distinct phases every month, four of them occurring roughly a week apart.

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picture of lunar eclipse - Google Search

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picture of solar eclipse - Google Search

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A solar eclipse is when the moon passes directly between the earth and the Sun, casting its shadow onto the earth. Only viewable from inside the penumbra or umbra

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A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes directly behind the earth in the full moon phase and the earths shadow covers the moon partially to completely

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An eclipse is when one celestial body covers the light of another body between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.

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The phases of the moon are caused by the moon rotating around the Earth  and us seeing portions of the lit half.