A full-blood moon is a phenomenon that makes the moon appear red during a total lunar eclipse, which is visible this week for Americans and the Western Hemisphere. According to NASA, the blood moon will rise early Friday and appear as a full moon on Wednesday that will last through Saturday morning. This phenomenon will start before the full moon reaches its peak illumination. When the eclipse begins, the moon starts moving through the Earth’s shadow. North and South America will have the best views of the Blood Moon, though some in Europe and Africa may catch glimpses. To view the moon you don’t need any special equipment, but binoculars or a telescope are advised to get the best view. An explanation for why this occurrence happens is due to the sun, Earth, and moon’s alignment, which allows the moon to pass into Earth’s shadow. During a total lunar eclipse, the entire moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.  The moon appears red-orange when it’s in the Earth’s shadow and any sunlight that is not blocked will be filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere. That is why the moon appears red. The moon does not orbit the Earth in a perfectly flat plane around our planet’s equator; instead, it is slightly tilted at an angle. This means that the moon will sometimes pass in front of the Earth above or below the planet’s midline, allowing the solar light to reach the lunar surface.

Red and orange wavelengths pass right through and the moon is bathed in a reddish tint, which explains the name: Blood Moon. If you want to view this total eclipse, it will unfortunately cause you to lose some sleep. It begins at 2:26 a.m. on March 14 on the East Coast and will last for over an hour.

Works Cited

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lunar-eclipse-blood-moon-2025/

https://time.com/7266847/what-to-know-about-march-blood-moon-lunar-eclipse/