As many know, this past weekend there was a celestial phenomenon dubbed the Super Blood Wolf Moon.  Many of us were excited to go outside into the bitter cold and crane our necks up towards the reddish glow of the moon, but why exactly is this phenomenon so exciting?  What even is a blood moon?

The whole event revolves around a lunar eclipse.  This is when the Moon falls into the shadow of the Earth, meaning the Earth is aligned between the Sun and the Moon.  When this happens, much of the light from the Sun no longer reaches the moon.  Instead, only light that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere is able reach the surface of the moon.  Since the Earth’s atmosphere at this particular angle only allows low frequency light to pass through, such as the color red, it is occasionally the only light to reach the moon.  Therefore, the moon is given a spooky red glow!  This is the same phenomenon that make makes the sky red when the Sun sets on the horizon.

The Blood Moon, however, is not the only interesting state of the moon.  In the realm of eclipses alone, there are 3 different types of moons: Total eclipses, partial eclipses, and Penumbral eclipses.

A total eclipse of the moon is when the Earth’s full shadow covers the moon.  This results in the moon having a very dim appearance.  A partial lunar eclipse is when only part of the Earth’s shadow covers the moon, which causes the moon to look like a chunk is missing from one part of the moon.  Finally, there is the Penumbral eclipse.  This is when the moon is only covered by the penumbral shadow of the Earth.  The penumbral shadow is the faint outer shadow formed by the curvature of light around the bend of the Earth.  This type of eclipse is very faint and usually very uninteresting.

There are many superstitious beliefs that accompany these lunar eclipses.  While many scientists believe an eclipse to be simply a celestial phenomenon, others see an eclipse through a much more spiritual light.  For example, some believe a lunar eclipse is the sign of the coming apocalypse.  According to one rendition of the Bible, the coming of four consecutive lunar eclipses – known as a tetrad – would bring on the end of the world.  This, however, was proven not be to true.  The final lunar eclipse to complete the most recent tetrad was September 27th, 2015.

Throughout my life I have always loved lunar eclipses.  When I was young, these lunar events would always mean excitement throughout my house because my parents would promise to wake up me and my siblings since the eclipse occurred past our bedtimes.  When I grew older, I would stay up late into the night until the eclipse started and then rush outside with the rest my family.  While these events are much more common than a solar eclipse, they still make exciting events for all friends to gather and see!