Earth will cast two shadows on the moon during the eclipse. The penumbra is the partial outer shadow, and the umbra is the full, dark shadow.
When the full moon moves into Earth’s shadow, it will darken, but it won’t disappear. Sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere will light the moon in a dramatic fashion, turning it red.
Depending on the weather conditions in your area, it may be gray, rusty, brick-colored or blood-red.
This happens because blue light undergoes stronger atmospheric scattering, so red light will be the most dominant color highlighted as sunlight passes through our atmosphere and casts it on the moon.
And unlike solar eclipses, especially the total solar eclipse in August 2017, the lunar eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye or binoculars.
I am Neal Stephenson, sci-fi author, geek, and [now] sword maker