Total Lunar Eclipse

One day I will learn more about my camera so that I may be prepared to shoot photographs of spectacular events such as this evening's total lunar eclipse.  It was beautiful to watch, and the image reminded me of an orange plastic ball like the ones they sell in Target at the beginnig of summer.

The total lunar eclipse, as explain on timeanddate.com, happens when the earth moves between the sun and the moon.  They give a great explanation:

"The Moon does not have any light of its own, but its surface reflects the Sun's rays. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. Because of this, no direct sunlight gets through to the Moon and its entire visible surface is enveloped in the darkest, central part of the Earth's shadow - the umbra.The Moon is still visible in the night sky during totality. Although the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from the Moon's surface, some rays find their way onto the Moon via the Earth's atmosphere. Parts of the sunlight's spectrum are blocked or filtered out during this process, red being the remaining frequency under normal circumstances. This accounts for the usual appearance of a totally eclipsed Moon as a copper-red orb. However, depending on the amount of dust and clouds in the Earth's atmosphere, the color can change to yellow, orange, or brown."