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Have you seen the total lunar eclipse “Blood Moon”? Late Late Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday, the full “worm moon” turned a beautiful reddish color as it moved through the massive shade of the Umbral Earth in space.
The worm moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse on March 13, 2025 on Vancouver, Canada. ( … [+]
The main facts
On March 13-14, 2025, the first total lunar eclipse has taken place since 2022, with North and South America taking the best views.
The moon slowly faded as it entered Umbra, the central shade of the Earth in space, becoming a stunning red globe in the night sky.
The best lunar eclipse visible in North America by 2029, those in the eastern half of the continent were able to follow the eclipse mainly after midnight, while those in the western half had a more appropriate appearance in the “main time” evening hours.
Observers in Western Europe saw the moon sliding into the shadow of the Earth just before the Moonsset, while those in New Zealand proved that the moon was eclipsed already.
A total lunar eclipse is visible in its peak phase on Friday, March 14, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (AP … [+]
Moon color
During the eclipse, the moon traveled through the northern half of the Earth’s shadow. As a consequence, from the northern hemisphere, the southern limb of the moon – closer to the center of the Earth’s shadow – it became quite dark during the whole, while the northern limb was a lighter pink, orange. The moon shone red during the whole due to the light of the sun that was refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere. The phenomenon, often called “blood moon” occurs because the Earth’s atmosphere distributes shorter light with blue and green wavelengths, while allowing red and orange colors to cross and illuminate the moon.
A total lunar eclipse from Palm Springs, California, on March 13, 2025 (Photo by Patrick T. … [+]
Why was it called ‘Eclipse Columbus’
The “Blood Moon” shone on the side of the spring triangle, a simple equilateral triangle of red supergiant arcturus stars, spices and denebola, the latter just above the moon. It was a nearly identical scene for the night of February 29 March 1504, when Christopher Columbus used their astronomical knowledge to terrify the indigenous Arawak people, persuading them to cooperate with their crew, according to Space.com. Last night’s total lunar eclipse occurred exactly a hypersaro after the February-March event, 1504. A hypersaros is a 521-year-old cycle in which lunar eclipses occur with almost identical features, position in the sky and time of year.
A partial lunar eclipse is seen during the lunar eclipse of the blood moon above Palm Springs, California, … [+]
When is the other eclipse?
Another total lunar eclipse is coming later this year. On September 7-8, 2025, the “full moon of corn” will become the second “blood moon” of the year – this time for 82 minutes – but this time, it will be more visible from Asia, with Europe looking at Moonrise. The other visible total lunar eclipse from North America will take place on March 3-4, 2026, with those in Hawaii, Alaska and the western regions of the US and Canada taking the best appearance of the whole, which will last 58 minutes.
A partial lunar eclipse is seen above a palm fruits during the lunar eclipse of the moon of blood … [+]
BACKGROUND
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is directly between the sun and a full moon, casting a shade on the lunar surface. During the whole, the only sunlight that reaches the moon comes through the Earth’s atmosphere, which refracts and filters it, distributing blue and green wavelengths and allowing only reddish light to illuminate the moon. According to NASA, the whole during a total lunar eclipse is like thousands of sunset that are predicted on the moon.
A total lunar eclipse enters its peak phase on Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP … [+]
Further reading