Why does the moon disappear from view during an eclipse?

During a lunar eclipse, the moon disappears from view because it passes into the Earth's shadow. As the Earth aligns between the sun and the moon, it blocks sunlight from reaching the moon, causing it to darken. Depending on the type of eclipse, the moon may appear to take on a reddish hue due to Rayleigh scattering of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere, but it can also become completely obscured. This phenomenon occurs only during a full moon when the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned.