the moon appears red/orange at "moon rise" because the light from the moon must travel through alot more atmosphere when it first rises than it does shortly afterwards. The molecules that make up the atmosphere, including dust and pollution, scatter the the blues and greens leaving the reds and oranges to pass through.

Someone mentioned that a lunar eclipse can happen only when the moon is full - that is correct! And they can (and are) be predicted ahead of time and don't happen randomly. The moon is slowly moving away from the earth - if forget the amount but its a couple/few inches a year. at some point a million or so years from now there will be no more eclipses.

Another interesting bit of info about the moon - if you've ever noticed, when the moon is a crescent either right before sunrise or right after sunset, you can faintly see the remainder of the moon. That's actually caused by "earthshine" - sunlight reflecting off of the earth and faintly illuminating that part of the moon

Its all good stuff...
Ubalubus Reviewed by Ubalubus on . Someone whos good with science? What does an orange moon mean? Rating: 5