According to NASA, on Tuesday, April 15, there will be a total lunar eclipse that will turn the moon a coppery red. It’s called a blood moon, and CNN News has reported that, it is one of four total eclipses that will take place in North America within the next year and a half. This will be the First Blood Moon Eclipse in a Series of Four. This is also known as a lunar tetrad. The moon will pass into the Earth’s penumbra, which is the outer portion of its shadow, and the eclipse begins.
The four blood moons according to CNN News will occur in roughly six-month intervals on the following dates, April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015, and the last eclipse falling on September 28, 2015. Mars is also very close to Earth at the moment, making it one of the brightest objects in the sky. The tetrad sequence will occur while the Earth, Mars, Sun, and Moon are aligned.
Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye. In a prepared statement, Fred Espenak, longtime NASA eclipse expert said that, “The most unique thing about the 2014-2015 Tetrad is that all of them are visible for all or parts of the USA.” NASA reports that, there are about two lunar eclipses per year. Before the dawn of the 20th century, there was a 300-year period when there were no tetrads, according to Fred Espenak. Some religious types believe that the series of four “blood” moons signifies the beginning of the apocalypse.
Want to hear something poetic? According to Slate, if you were to stand on the Moon during the deepest times of the eclipse, from your view you’re seeing all the sunrises and sunsets on earth at that very moment. Next time someone tells you that science is cold and emotionless, tell them that.
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Image Credit: www.space.com