Lunar eclipse today: Know what is a blood moon

The first lunar eclipse of 2021 will appear today. The occurrence is going to be special as this will be a blood moon, a supermoon and a lunar eclipse all at once. So what exactly is a blood moon?

To understand what is a blood moon, we first have to know how a lunar eclipse works.

Lunar eclipse

The phenomenon of Earth covering the Moon partially or completely is known as the lunar eclipse. This happens only when there is a full moon.

The full moon appears when the moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. 

Also read: When and where will the blood moon appear on May 26

As the Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5 degrees compared to Earth’s, in most cases it ends up a little below or above the Earth’s shadow. However, the moon is on the same horizontal plane as both the Earth and sun twice in each lunar orbit.

So, if this corresponds to a full moon, the Earth, Sun and Moon will end up in a straight line and a lunar eclipse will occur.

Also read: Major space events in the celestial calendar of 2021

Blood moon

When the Moon is completely covered in the shadow of Earth, it appears to be reddish in colour. This is why some lunar eclipses are called blood moons.

The red colour is visible because the redder wavelengths of the Sun pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and are refracted or bent toward the Moon. 

The 2021 lunar eclipse will be visible in regions of South/ East Asia, Australia, North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Antarctica, Norwegian website Time and Date reported.