APOD: 2026 November 1 – Colors of the Moon

1 min read · reported by NASA

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Explanation: What color is the Moon? It depends on the night -- and the time. Outside of the Earth's atmosphere , the dark Moon , which shines by reflected sunlight, appears a magnificent ly brown-tinged gray. The featured image highlights a collection of apparent colors of the full moon on Earth, documented by one astrophotographer over 10 years from different locations across Italy . A red - or yellow -colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon . There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere , sometimes laden with fine dust. A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles . What created the purple moon is unclear -- it may be a combination of several effects. The last image captures the total lunar eclipse of 2018 July -- where the moon, in Earth's shadow , appeared a faint red -- due to light refracted through air around the Earth. Have you ever seen an unusually colorful Moon? Tomorrow's picture: open space

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