BEAVER BLOOD MOON - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

News: ‘Beaver blood moon’ offers world’s last total lunar eclipse until 2025

What's in the news?

       The Beaver blood moon offers the world's last total lunar eclipse until 2025.

Lunar eclipse:

       A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly behind the earth into its shadow.

       The earth, sun and the moon are either closely or perfectly aligned, with the earth in the middle.

       The earth’s shadow blocks sunlight from reflecting off the moon, thus resulting in an eclipse – partial or total. 

Blood Moon:

       A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow completely over a full moon, blocking reflection of all direct sunlight from the lunar orb and dimming the colour of the moon to a reddish hue, hence the term “blood moon.”

       It is only possible when the orbits of the Earth, moon and sun align so that the moon is directly behind Earth relative to the sun.

Why Red?

       It is caused by rays of sunlight around the outer edge of the eclipse shadow, or umbra, being filtered and refracted as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere, bathing the moon indirectly in a dim copper glow.

       The degree of redness depends on atmospheric conditions that vary with levels of air pollution, dust storms, wildfire smoke and even volcanic ash.

How Rare?

       Total lunar eclipses occur, on average, about once every year and a half, (but vary) event marked the second blood moon this year, following one in mid-May.

       The next one is not expected until March 14, 2025.

How Long?

       The entire eclipse unfolded over a period of nearly six hours as the moon gradually edged into the Earth’s paler, outer shadow, its “penumbra,” then entered the Earth’s darker, inner shadow, or “umbra,” before reaching totality and eventually emerging from the other side.