A blood moon is a description of the moon's color during a lunar eclipse.

A series of four total lunar eclipses can be referred to as a "blood moon" if they are observed from one place within two years. If you stay in the same place for a decade, you can usually see four to five total eclipses.

Why do blood moons look red?

Earth casts a shadow on the Solar System by blocking the Sun's light from entering it.

Earth's atmosphere is transparent enough to allow light to pass through. A thin layer of gas and particles suspended in the atmosphere scatter some of the light.

Light that can make it all the way through the atmosphere at dawn and dusk appears orange to red due to the scattering.

Earth is creating a cone-like shadow with a glowing fringe.

The diagram doesn't scale.

Thanks to its small size and close proximity to Earth, the Moon only passes through this shadow a few times a year.

While direct sunlight is completely blocked, the reddish light passing out of Earth's atmosphere bends just enough to cast a spooky "blood stained" glow across the Moon. You can see a different perspective on the eclipse.

NASA calls it a Super Blue Blood Moon if you get one in a blue moon.

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