Lunar Eclipse Creates “Blood Moon” Effect

Anyone who was skygazing last night would have caught a glimpse of a rare celestial event, as a lunar eclipse caused what is known as a “blood moon”, with the name stemming from the fact the moon takes on a reddish appearance.

CNN describes the “blood moon” by saying, “In a total lunar eclipse, the full moon turns a coppery red as it passes into Earth’s shadow. During the process, the moon’s bright glow dims, taking on a red hue because of shimmers of sunlight and sunsets seeping through the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Dust and sulfur dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere can affect the size of the shadow. The moon has to be full for the total lunar eclipse to occur. As more of the moon emerges from the shadow, its red tint fades as it gets lighter and transitions to its normal silver color. The entire reddening process takes about an hour.”

Despite our overnight efforts, we were unable to capture much of the lunar eclipse as we were thwarted by clouds, however we did manage to capture photos of the “blood moon” effect.

Taken off the east end of Bermuda at 5.08am today:

Taken from Paget at 5.15am today:

Three further eclipses will occur during 2014: an annular solar eclipse on 29 April, a total lunar eclipse on 8 October and a partial solar eclipse on 23 October.

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Category: All, Environment, News