Halloween comes early—‘Blood Moon’ makes an appearance April 15
2014-04-16
Americans had more to tremble about than just “tax day” this April 15.
The “Blood Moon” made an appearance, along with a total lunar eclipse, which peaked around 2:45 a.m. Johnson Space Center photographer Lauren Harnett took this multi-frame composite image of the so-called "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse in the early hours of April 15.
What makes the eclipsed moon turn red? The answer lies inside Earth’s shadow.
Our planet casts a long shadow. It starts on the ground—step outside at night. You're in Earth's shadow. Think about it!—and it stretches almost a million miles into space, far enough to reach the moon.
Suppose you had a personal spaceship. Here's your mission: Tonight, at midnight, blast off and fly down the middle of Earth's shadow. Keep going until you're about 200,000 miles above Earth, almost to the moon. Now turn around and look down. The view from your cockpit window is Earth's nightside, the dark half of our planet opposite the sun. But it's not completely dark! All around Earth's limb, the atmosphere glows red.
What you’re seeing is every sunrise and sunset on Earth—all at once. This ring of light shines into Earth’s shadow, breaking the utter darkness you might expect to find there. Turn off the cockpit lights. There’s a lovely red glow.
The eclipse is a phenomenon that occurs when the Earth, moon and sun are in perfect alignment, blanketing the moon in the Earth’s shadow. The United States, in its entirety, will not be able to witness a full lunar eclipse again until 2019—so enjoy this haunting view while it lasts.
The “Blood Moon” made an appearance, along with a total lunar eclipse, which peaked around 2:45 a.m. Johnson Space Center photographer Lauren Harnett took this multi-frame composite image of the so-called "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse in the early hours of April 15.
What makes the eclipsed moon turn red? The answer lies inside Earth’s shadow.
Our planet casts a long shadow. It starts on the ground—step outside at night. You're in Earth's shadow. Think about it!—and it stretches almost a million miles into space, far enough to reach the moon.
Suppose you had a personal spaceship. Here's your mission: Tonight, at midnight, blast off and fly down the middle of Earth's shadow. Keep going until you're about 200,000 miles above Earth, almost to the moon. Now turn around and look down. The view from your cockpit window is Earth's nightside, the dark half of our planet opposite the sun. But it's not completely dark! All around Earth's limb, the atmosphere glows red.
What you’re seeing is every sunrise and sunset on Earth—all at once. This ring of light shines into Earth’s shadow, breaking the utter darkness you might expect to find there. Turn off the cockpit lights. There’s a lovely red glow.
The eclipse is a phenomenon that occurs when the Earth, moon and sun are in perfect alignment, blanketing the moon in the Earth’s shadow. The United States, in its entirety, will not be able to witness a full lunar eclipse again until 2019—so enjoy this haunting view while it lasts.
From open prairie land on the 1625-acre Johnson Space Center site, JSC photographer Lauren Harnett took this multi-frame composite image of the "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse in the early hours of April 15. Photo credit: NASA/Lauren Harnett