In the wee hours of the morning, I looked out the window to see if I could see the Blood Moon, or the lunar eclipse. Today's eclipse was the first in a series of four lunar eclipses, called a tetrad. According to EarthSky.org, "It’s four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons)" EarthSky.org Lunar Eclipses -2014-2015. These eclipses occur when the earth casts a shadow on the moon. Apparently, the coppery red color is light refracted from the sunrises & sunsets from around the world, making this moon even more beautiful. In doing some research, I did find out that the term Blood Moon for a lunar eclipse is a name given to the tetrad of lunar eclipses by John Hagee very recently in 2013, so that is a relatively recent name that the media has picked up on. Traditionally, the Hunters Moon, usually in November, was called the blood moon. The next tetrad will be in 2032 -2033, so mark you calendars & get out there & enjoy it. By the way, this pic was taken at 2:47 CDT, which was near the time of the total eclipse & that bright star along for the ride is Spica.
The next lunar eclipses are October 8, 2014, April 4, 2015, & September 28, 2015
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