Lunar Eclipse 2026: Why the Moon is turning red

For millions of people a special event called a total lunar eclipse will take place across the world on 3 March.

During this event, the Moon may turn a deep red colour, which is why people sometimes call it a "Blood Moon".

However, this eclipse will not be visible in the UK, Europe or Africa.

The best views will be from North America, the Pacific region, Australia and parts of East Asia.

To understand a lunar eclipse, we need to know how the Sun, Earth and Moon move.

The Moon orbits (moves around) Earth. At the same time, Earth orbits the Sun. As they move, their positions line up in different ways.

We always see the same side of the Moon because it takes exactly the same amount of time to spin once on its axis as it takes to travel once around Earth: 27 days.

As it moves around us, it turns at just the right speed to keep the same face pointing our way.

A lunar eclipse happens when Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon.

When this happens, Earth blocks the Sun's light and casts a shadow onto the Moon.

This only happens during a full Moon, when the Moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun.

If only part of the Moon goes into Earth's shadow, it is called a partial lunar eclipse.

The difference between a lunar eclipse and when we see a half Moon or crescent Moon in the night sky is that - when we see only part of the Moon lit by the Sun - it's just a normal phase.

A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon moves into Earth's shadow.

Unlike a solar eclipse where the Sun gets blocked out, during a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is still visible and turns red or orange.

This happens because sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere.

The atmosphere is filled with gases and particles that act like a filter which scatters blue light (which is why the sky looks blue), but red and orange light pass through more easily.

That reddish light bends around Earth and reaches the Moon, making it glow like copper in the sky.