The dreaded Blood Moon came and went Sunday night ? and the world didn’t end.
Superstitious prophets of apocalyptic doom are probably disappointed, but sky watchers and stargazers relished having a front-row seat for this spectacular celestial event.
Although it’s not a term bandied about in scientific circles, Blood Moon refers to the reddish color of an eclipsed Moon.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon are all in alignment with our planet positioned in the middle. At this point, the moon is in the Earth’s shadow.
Instead of being directly reflected off the moon, the sun’s light now hits the Earth first. The planet’s atmosphere scatters blue light more than red, so the blue light gets filtered out as it passes through and the red light that doesn’t scatter reaches the moon and reflects back to viewers? eyes, creating the Blood Moon effect, according to the University of California, Santa Barbara’s ScienceLine website.
Sunday’s Blood Moon was very special because it was a total eclipse of a supermoon, a term for when the moon is both full and closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit, making it appear larger and brighter in the sky. It was also a Harvest Moon, the full moon seen nearest to the autumnal equinox.
Total eclipses of supermoons are rare occurrences. NASA reports them happening only five times during the 20th century ? 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982.
Another Supermoon eclipse won’t happen again until Oct. 8, 2033, so if you missed this one, you’ve got an 18-year wait.