Ed Dunn, age 10 of Phoenix, Ariz., for his question:

WHY DOES THE MOON GLOW DURING A LUNAR ECLIPSE?

During a solar eclipse, the glorious face of the sun is replaced by a jet black disk. It seems logical to expect a lunar eclipse to blot out the golden moon completely in the same way. But this does not happen. Actually, the full moon merely is eclipsed by the earth's shadow. This hazy shadow points like a long tapering finger from the night side of the earth, far out into space.

Once in a while, the orbiting moon passes through the earth's hazy shadow and we get a lunar eclipse. The moon's golden face is dimmed but not hidden. This is why the full moon continues to glow all through the lunar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the sun is blotted out because the solid moon gets directly between us and the sun's dazzling face