Lunar Eclipse’s ‘Blood Moon’ to Grace the Sky 3 More Times—Scientists
The "blood moon" which graced the skies early morning of April 15 had drawn astronomers, enthusiasts and a lot of people around the world. While the news about it had been repeatedly played on the television and were becoming viral on the internet, some people who may have failed to witness the spectacular red coloured moon may be able to see it again once this year and twice in 2015.
There are two lunar eclipses that happen every year. One is partial eclipse which happen when the moon passes only in a part of the Earth's shadow and the other is penumbral eclipse which happen when the moon barely occupies the shadow of the Earth. What is unique about the "blood moon" is that one can only see it during a total lunar eclipse. A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is in between the sun and the moon. The earth covers the light from the sun which creates Earth's shadow where the Earth's atmosphere bends the sun illumination thus giving the moon a unique orangey or bloody color.
The April 15 phenomenon was seen by many. Some took pictures and video of it and shared it over the internet. Some even did a live broadcast of the astronomical event.
While the "blood moon" became a worldwide trend, a lot of people failed to witness the astronomical event. But scientists and astronomers have a good news for enthusiasts. According to the experts, the moon will be bloody red three times once more in the next 18 months.
The April phenomenon where the moon shines red is a part of the lunar eclipse called 'terrad'. It happens as a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in about six-month intervals.
This year, the "blood moon" is expected to reappear on October 8 at about 6 in the morning. The other appearances will be on April 4, 2015 and September 28, 2015.