On the morning of October 8 the full moon took on an eerie reddish hue that people have dubbed the ‘Blood Moon’. According to Space.com:
“The total lunar eclipse of Oct. 8 was visible to observers in North America, western South America, parts of East Asia, Australia and other parts of the Pacific, weather permitting. The lunar eclipse is also the second of four consecutive total eclipses of the moon that make up a unique “tetrad.” [source]
The ‘blood moon’ is the result of the moon passing into the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, causing the moon to glow with a spooky copper colour. And if you missed last night’s show don’t fret! The total eclipse is part of a so-called tetrad of lunar eclipses set to take place from 2014 to 2015. The first total eclipse in the tetrad took place in April 2014, and the next eclipse will occur in April 2015 with the last in the tetrad set for Sept. 2015.
Space.com also mentions several other skywatching events to look out for in October including: a partial solar eclipse on Oct. 23 (most parts of North America), Comet Siding Spring making a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19 and the Orionid meteor shower (peaks overnight from Oct. 21-22).
[via Space.com]
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