Will This Week’s Lunar Eclipse Be a Blood Moon?

Contrary to popular perception, this week’s lunar eclipse will not produce a blood moon; rather it will appear slightly reddish-tinged.

Due to Earth’s atmosphere, which preferentially diffuses short wavelengths of sunlight while permitting longer ones through, making the moon appear orange or deep red in color.

It’s a total lunar eclipse

This week’s lunar eclipse, which began early Wednesday morning and lasted more than three hours, is being touted as the longest lunar eclipse ever experienced since 1887. But don’t expect the moon to turn coppery red – that isn’t scientifically accurate either; what actually causes its appearance during a total lunar eclipse is Earth’s atmosphere reflecting off its surface into its shadowy space.

An eclipse occurs only during total lunar eclipse, when Sun, Moon, and Earth come into perfect alignment. When this occurs, the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow; since its orbit differs slightly from theirs, sunlight doesn’t reach it directly.

But when the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow zone, its light has already been refracted by our planet’s atmosphere, where shorter wavelengths, like blue and violet light rays are scattered away by atmospheric particles; only longer wavelengths, including reddish ones, remain to illuminate it.

This phenomenon also accounts for the mysterious glow that appears around the Moon during a total lunar eclipse, so with binoculars or telescopes you’ll be able to witness the creation of reddish hues on its surface.

Another unique element of this lunar eclipse is that it occurs during perigee, when the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit. This will cause it to appear larger and brighter than usual – an effect some astronomers refer to as supermoon; although, as stated earlier, there is no scientific definition for such phenomenon.

Supermoons only appear during lunar eclipses when the Moon is full and close to perigee, due to its elliptical orbit that only allows it to become fully lit at certain points in its cycle. When this point arrives and perigee has been reached, its size increases up to 7% – creating an unusually bright and large view as well as intensifying lunar eclipse colors more effectively.

It’s a supermoon

Astronomers use the term “supermoon” to refer to a full Moon that appears larger and brighter than usual, due to the Moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth; at its closest approach it’s known as perigee Moon while its furthest point apogee Moon. On rare occasions each year either new Moon or full Moon coincide with perigee; when this occurs during a lunar eclipse it may also be known as supermoon; though its use has only recently entered popular culture.

An eclipse occurs when the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow, blocking direct sunlight from reaching its surface directly. Some indirect lighting can still reach it though Earth’s atmosphere, giving rise to reddish hues on its surface – hence why “blood moon” is often used to describe such eclipses.

The term “blood Moon” does not have any scientific basis, yet is commonly used to refer to a total lunar eclipse which produces a reddish-hued Moon. This type of lunar eclipse is the most frequently witnessed; unlike solar eclipses which should never be looked directly upon, lunar eclipses can be safely observed both on the ground or through telescopes.

When lunar eclipses happen during perigee, it causes the Moon to appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual – although these differences are easily noticeable, they’re not as dramatic as one might assume.

Each year, two full Moons that coincide with perigee typically occur and it comes close to perigee several times during its orbit of earth; but rarely all three cosmic events – blood Moon, harvest Moon and supermoon – come at once.

It marks a rare occurrence in modern history: A full Moon occurring close to both perigee and autumn’s start will likely not happen again until 2024; though one will occur next month visible from most locations worldwide.

It’s a wolf moon

On Thursday night, when it reaches its fullness, the moon will shine at its brightest. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, its peak will occur at 12:54 p.m. EST and remain full through Friday evening.

Astrology Daily reports that when the moon is full, its location in Leo is symbolic of passion, desires and expression. Now is an opportune time to honor your heart’s desire and step boldly into the limelight; plus it provides an opportunity to leave behind negative habits that prevent us from feeling good about ourselves.

Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow (umbra). A total lunar eclipse occurs when it enters fully into this umbra and becomes enveloped within it; this causes its surface to glow red due to direct sunlight being blocked, with only sunlight reflecting off Earth’s atmosphere reaching it – leading some people to refer to such lunar eclipses as blood moons; although such terms do not correspond scientifically.

The January full moon has long been known as the Wolf Moon due to howling wolves outside Native American tribes and early colonial settlements. Additionally, its name may derive from old English words for both winter and wolf that Anglo-Saxons used when adopting Native American names into their calendars.

An approaching total lunar eclipse will be visible from parts of Africa and Asia; however, North Americans won’t be able to view it due to Earth’s ecliptic plane being closer than is ideal for viewing an eclipse from outer space.

2024 provides several opportunities to witness this astounding celestial event, including on Aug 19 when there will be another blood moon eclipse – this one appearing brighter and closer to Earth’s ecliptic plane than its first counterpart on Aug 21. It is anticipated to reach magnitude 1.26; its duration should last about four hours; so make sure you wear comfortable sunglasses and have snacks ready!

It’s a harvest moon

Blood Moon’ is an informal name given to lunar eclipses when their reddish color appears during total lunar eclipses, due to Earth’s umbra shadow falling across its surface during total eclipse. Some sunlight still reaches the Moon via Earth’s atmosphere and gets refracted by its atmosphere, producing reddish, yellow or orange hues upon reflecting off its surface. Witnessing four consecutive blood moons at once is quite uncommon and is known in astronomy as a “tetrad”.

This year’s harvest moon will be both a supermoon and lunar eclipse; however, it won’t resemble a blood moon due to it being only partial rather than total; partial lunar eclipses only happen when the Moon passes through Earth’s umbra, not its limb. Furthermore, perigee moons occur less frequently than full lunar eclipses or supermoons.

Harvest moons occur annually around September. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, they mark the full Moon closest to autumnal equinox – and rise and reach its fullness earlier than other Moons; providing extra moonlight for farmers who use longer hours in harvesting crops.

EarthSky reports that although harvest moons appear closer and brighter than regular full Moons, their size does not differ dramatically due to how our brains interpret the Moon differently when nearer the horizon compared with higher up in the sky. Our ancestors probably saw harvest moons as being particularly scary or menacing due to how our brains perceive its surface differently when near the horizon versus above in the sky; they associated its strange appearance with malice; therefore performing rituals to safeguard themselves against it’s evil influence – such as Inca beliefs that believed celestial jaguars were trying to devour it while making noise would scare it off while actually just reflecting sunlight back from another angle! Interestingly enough though; our ancestors did not realise this phenomenon was just reflecting sunlight off of EarthSky!