All you need to know about the 'blood moon'
by Matthew Weaver from on (#NS2M)
What is a 'blood moon'? Why is it red? Key questions answered about the latest lunar phenomenon
What is a 'blood moon'?
The term is scoffed at by astronomers, but it has come to mean the combination of a super moon - when the moon's orbit is closest to the Earth and appears up to 8% bigger - and a full lunar eclipse, when the Earth's shadow obscures the moon. On Sunday night it resulted in spectacular views of a coppery disc in the sky. "Blood moon" is not a scientific term. It began to be used in connection with Biblical prophesies, but has come to be used to describe the reddish hue seen on a super moon during a lunar eclipse. To astronomers, the event was a "super moon, harvest moon, tetrad, lunar eclipse".
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