The Blood Moon

Blood Moon

Ever heard of the term Blood Moon?...well, it is a name given to the moon during a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, casting the moon into shadow.
And you will be experiencing one this Friday night through Saturday morning, might not be your first time seeing one though, but I bet you, this could be the longest you've ever seen.


Also note that there is also a Solar Eclipse - a situation that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and when the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun. This can happen only at new moon when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth in an alignment referred to as syzygy.

Unlike with a solar eclipse, when the moon passes between the Earth and sun, blocking the sun’s light, the moon is not “turned dark” during an eclipse, but instead appears to turn red. Lunar eclipses occur in rare cases not too common as with solar eclipses, with a maximum of three occurring in any given location per year, though some years there can be none. However, each lunar eclipse is visible from more than half the Earth.

What is So Special About It????
Obviously, this isn't the first time you are hearing or coming across the term Blood Moon but this would be the first time you get to know of the longest lunar eclipse of the century...yes, the longest so far!

The moon will be in the Earth’s shadow for four hours and totally eclipsed for one hour and 43 minutes, which is just short of the theoretical limit of a lunar eclipse (one hour and 47 minutes). The eclipse will last for so long on Friday night because the moon will be passing through the centre of the Earth’s shadow.

Those in East Africa are sure to get the best view of the eclipse, as well as those in the Middle East, across to India and the westernmost tip of China. But there still be reasonable views for people in the rest of Africa, Europe, other parts of Asia, Australia and maybe those in South America.

According to MSN - In the UK: the total eclipse will be visible between 9:20pm BST on Friday, with the moon visible to the south-east, until 10:13pm.
While in east Africa the partial eclipse will begin at 9:30pm EAT, with the moon completely red between 10:30pm and 12:13am. And in India, the total eclipse will begin at 1am IST, finishing at 2:43am.

Mind you, it is completely safe to look at the moon during an eclipse (So I heard).
First appeared in MSN Website