This is incorrect, as the only body in the solar system that produces its own light is the sun. All other objects, such as the moon and planets, can only be seen because they reflect the light given out by the sun.

Now this may seem obvious, but an often-overlooked consequence of the sun being the only source of light is that everything must therefore cast a shadow. Normally these shadows are invisible in the blackness of space, but every so often they can be seen.

If the moon only grazes the earth’s shadow and therefore only partially enters it we get a partial lunar eclipse. Passing completely into the shadow, however, means the moon no longer reflects any sunlight and it goes dark, producing a total lunar eclipse.

The next one of these visible from the central west occurs next Tuesday evening.

Unfortunately we don’t get to see the eclipse from the start, but spectacularly, as the moon rises at 5:37pm, it will already be totally eclipsed and remain so until 6:25pm. Then, slowly but surely, it will move out of the shadow until the eclipse finally finishes at 7:33pm. 

While watching the eclipse you may notice that the moon doesn’t go completely dark. A small amount of light, bent by the earth’s atmosphere, still fall’s onto the moon’s surface. Since the atmosphere scatters out blue light, this also means the moon will often appear a reddish colour while totally within the earth’s shadow.

Lunar eclipses tend to be more commonly seen than eclipses of the sun as you don’t have to be directly under a small spot of shadow to see it.  Anyone on the side of the earth facing the moon at the time will be able to see the eclipse. But as an added bonus, in two weeks time, on April 29, we will also get to see a solar eclipse, although from here in the central west we will only see the moon graze the sun.

This time the sun sets before the end of the eclipse, but we do get to see the moon slowly creep over the sun from 4:12pm until a maximum of 52 per cent of the sun’s surface is covered at 5:14pm, a mere 12 minutes before sunset.

 The problem with looking at solar eclipses is it requires looking directly at the sun. This is extremely dangerous, as the sun is far too bright for your eyes to handle and will potentially blind you. A good general rule is NEVER look directly at the sun. If however you do want to look at the eclipse there are ways of doing it indirectly and safely.

Details of how to do this can be found at www.southernskies.com.au.