A blood moon is an unscientific description The Moon‘s Sometimes-rusty colorWhen it experiences a total lunar eclipse.
A series of four total lunar eclipses can be called ‘blood moon’. However, this term is less common. They must be observed from the same spot within two years. There are usually four to five total lunar eclipses visible if you remain in one spot for more than a decade. Four consecutive eclipses is not common.
Why is it that blood moons are red?
Earth blocks photons from Sun like any opaque object in the way of light. This shadow casts into the Solar System.
Although the Earth’s atmosphere has a rocky bulk to it, it is transparent enough for some light to pass through. While some light is reflected by the thin layer, some wavelengths are scattered more strongly by particles suspended in atmosphere.
This scattering is also the reason why daylight sky appears blueAlthough it’s light, it can still make it through most of the atmosphere at dawn or dusk.
Earth’s reflection and scattering creates a cone-shaped shadow that has a glowing, rust-colored fringe.
Diagram of a Lunar Eclipse (not to scale).
Because of its small size and close proximity to Earth and the slight tilt it has when orbiting Earth, the Moon rarely passes through this shadow.
Although direct sunlight is blocked, the reddish-colored light passing through Earth’s atmosphere creates an unusual glow on the Moon that looks like it’s been stained by blood. You can see the clip below for a different perspective of the eclipse.
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NASA calls it a “blue moon” once in a while. Super Blue Blood MoonThis seemingly contradictory event is even rarer.
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