Did You See the Blood Moon?

This September, most of the world was able to view a very rare total lunar eclipse. The best views were in the United States and Canada. Did you see it?

On September 27-28, the moon was a Supermoon, that’s when the sun is closed to the Earth; 30,000 miles closer, in fact. This change in distance, due to shape of the moon’s orbit, makes the moon appear much larger and brighter than it normally would. In fact, at its peak, it was almost too bright to look at. Not as bright as the sun, of course, but very intense when viewing with the naked eye. Unlike a solar eclipse, no special eye protection is necessary to view any lunar eclipse.

A total eclipse of a Supermoon is a rare event. There have only been six of them in the 1900s, according to NASA. Another one will not occur until October 8, 2033. The next total lunar eclipse (NOT a Supermoon) visible from the US will occur on January 31, 2018.

Total lunar eclipses can cause the darkened part of the moon to appear red. This is especially true during the Supermoon due to its extreme brightness. The red color was extremely obvious during the September event. This type of moon is referred to as a Blood Moon because of the color.

The red is actually caused by an effect known as the Rayleigh scattering. Rayleigh scattering is an elastic scattering of light that changes the electric polarizability of the particles, changing the visible colors. Despite the scientific explanation, some still attribute the blood moon with a biblical prophecy of difficult times to come or end-of-times.

Yet another term for this particular event is the Harvest Moon. The full moon closest to the The September equinox, when the Sun rises directly east and sets directly west.

It is an extremely rare event to have the Supermoon, Harvest Moon, and Blood Moon all occur together. If you were fortunate enough to see it – in some areas, the weather was cloudy and the eclipse was hidden from view – it was spectacular to behold. The moon’s brightness, coupled with the dark shadow of the earth, crossing it was breathtaking and the red color during the middle of the eclipse was incredible.

Hopefully you were able to witness the amazing eclipse. If not, put October 8, 2033 on your calendar!