Total Lunar Eclipse, Blood Moon And What Is A Tetrad?

Plan on staying up late tonight for an awesome show in the sky.

Weather permitting, for the first time since 2011, all of North America will be able to see the full moon go from bright white to a dim and eerie shade of red or orange.

That’s why a total lunar eclipse is nicknamed a ‘blood moon.’

If you watch the whole thing, you’ll see larger and larger portions of the moon grow gradually dim until it takes on an eerie red or orange glow…the blood moon. Why does a total lunar eclipse turn the moon a different color? I explain in this short video:

Here is the timing for the April 2014 Total Lunar Eclipse:

• Eclipse Start: 10:58pm PDT Monday night April 14, 2014 /  1:58am EDT Tuesday  April 15, 2014
• Totality – entire moon is dimmed, eerie glow: 12:06am PDT / 3:06am EDT and for 76 minutes after that
• The eclipse ends about 3 1/2 hours after it starts

If you miss this one…it’s okay. You can try again in six months because this total lunar eclipse is a Tetrad. What is a tetrad you say? A tetrad is a group of four consecutive total lunar eclipses.

So when do these four total lunar eclipses occur?

1. April 14/15 2014
2. October 8, 2014
3. April 4, 2015
4. September 28, 2015

I hope the clouds hold off where you are…so you can enjoy the show!