Lunar eclipse turns the moon red

  • Science
Lunar eclipse turned the moon red Credit: RTV/ Griffith Observatory

A lunar eclipse turned the moon red this morning, but only for a short period.

Visible from parts of the United States, eastern North America and western South America and Asia the natural phenomenon was the third in a series of four lunar eclipses in a row and was labelled a "blood moon" because of the reddish tinge the moon took on as it slipped fully into the Earth's shadow.

Stargazers in Britain will not have seen the eclipse at all, as it was not visible in Europe, but the five minute event gave others around the globe a chance to see a unique sight.

According to Nasa the conditions that make the "blood moon" occur are:

  • the moon must be full - which means it is directly opposite the Sun with Earth in between

  • the moon needs to move into the shadow cast by the Sun shining on Earth

  • the moon looks reddish because sunlight has passed through Earth's atmosphere, which filters out most of its blue light

As the sky went dark ahead of the Credit: RTV/ Griffith Observatory
The red tinge of the moon was caused because sunlight has passed through Earth's atmosphere, which filters out most of its blue light Credit: RTV/ Griffith Observatory
It was the third of four lunar eclipses in a row Credit: RTV/ Griffith Observatory

The first of the recent four lunar eclipses in a row, also known as a "tetrad", was on April 15, 2014, the second was in September 2014, and the fourth and final one will be on September 28, 2015.