Skip to footer

Spectacular 'blood moon' eclipse wows skywatchers

The total lunar eclipse in Wednesday's early hours offered up spectacular views of a copper-colored moon. 

|
John W. Johnson via Virtual Telescope Project
The spectacular "blood moon" total lunar eclipse of Oct. 8, 2014 is captured by photographer John W. Johnson of the Omaha Astronomical Society in Nebraska in the United States.

The full moon took on a spooky red hue in a predawn total lunar eclipse Wednesday (Oct. 8) to the delight of skywatchers who managed to snap stunning photos of the "blood moon." 

The total lunar eclipse of Oct. 8 was visible to observers in North America, western South America, parts of East Asia, Australia and other parts of the Pacific, weather permitting. The  lunar eclipse is also the second of four consecutive total eclipses of the moon that make up a unique "tetrad."

During the eclipse, the moon passed into the darkest part of Earth's shadow, which caused the moon to glow with an eerie copper color. This color shift has caused some people to dub the natural satellite a "blood moon" during total lunar eclipses. The moon's temporary color also created an incredible, unique sight to behold for photographers on the ground. [See more amazing pictures of the Oct. 8 blood moon]

"The moon was a brownish red color," Christina Ryan told Space.com of her view of the eclipse from Elkhart, Ind. "Very beautiful lunar eclipse. I am happy to have been able to witness it."

Some intrepid observers might have also been able to capture the planet Uranus near the eclipsed full moon as well.

The lunar eclipse reached totality just before dawn for observers on the East Coast of the United States, but well-placed skywatchers on the West Coast may have seen the lunar eclipse rise in a totally dark sky during the wee hours of Oct. 8.

Some astrophotographers in California captured stunning views of the blood moon. Thomas Warloe took an incredible photo of the moon in the middle of totality glowing red in a sky dotted with stars from Berkeley, California.

Photographers from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii also snapped images of the total lunar eclipse.

"I am lucky to have such a clear night to observe this eclipse!" Jared Kizer told Space.com of his view of the eclipse from Queensland, Australia.

If you missed this total lunar eclipse, you might have another chance to see a blood moon rise 2015. The next eclipse in the tetrad series is set to grace the skies in April 2015, with the final in the tetrad occurring in September 2015.

Lunar eclipses occur when the full moon passes through Earth's shadow. Instead of blotting out the moon entirely, the moon turns a rusty color because of the way light from the sun seeps through the planet's shadow.

The color of the moon during a total lunar eclipse is also a good measure of what's happening in Earth's atmosphere at the time. If the moon is a darker shade during the eclipse, it could mean that the atmosphere is polluted from volcanic activity or other events.

This total lunar eclipse is only one in a series of amazing skywatching events happening in October. On Oct. 23, observers in most of North America will have the chance to see a partial solar eclipse. Comet Siding Spring is also set to make a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, and the Orionid meteor shower is expected to peak overnight from Oct. 21-22.

Editor's Note: If you snap an amazing picture of the Oct. 8 total lunar eclipse, you can send photos, comments, and your name and location to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Copyright 2014 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Spectacular 'blood moon' eclipse wows skywatchers
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/1008/Spectacular-blood-moon-eclipse-wows-skywatchers
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe