A full blood moon is coming on October 8. This total lunar eclipse will be the second, and the final blood moon of the year.
The full eclipse will start at 6:25 a.m. EDT and last until 7:24 a.m., according to NASA.
Full lunar eclipses were nicknamed “blood moons” because of their reddish tints due to the reflections of the sun.
Because this eclipse will happen two days after a lunar perigee, which is the point when the moon is closest to the earth, NASA states that the moon will appear 5.3 percent larger than the previous blood moon, which occurred on April 15th.
This blood moon will mark the second in series of four lunar eclipses in a row, which is known as a tetrad. We will experience only 8 tetrads in this century, according to the Washington Post. The next tetrad will occur around 2032 or 2033.
The lunar eclipse will be visible in the US and Canada, early in the morning of October 8. Those in the western part of the continent will have a better view, as shown in the map below from NASA.
For more information about blood moons, see this video by NASA:
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REFERENCES:
1. “ScienceCasts: A Colorful Lunar Eclipse.” YouTube. ScienceatNASA, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
2. “Blood Moon Returns, and This Time It’s Bigger.” CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
3. “What Is a Blood Moon?” EarthSky. EarthSky, 20 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
4. “Eclipses during 2014.” NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.
5. “Skywatch: Total Lunar Eclipse Set for Morning of April 15.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
6. “Second Lunar Eclipse Of 2014 To Bring ‘Blood Moon’ On October 8.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.
