Some people may know that there was actually a Blood Moon this May on May 15th. However, many of you still might be clueless on what a blood moon actually is, or how a blood moon is actually formed. You might actually even think that a blood moon is formed with actual blood… (which it’s not) So what even is a blood moon, and how is it formed? 

A blood moon happens when the moon goes behind the Earth and gets almost completely blocked from sunlight. A blood moon gets its red or ruddy brownish color from the sunlight that reflects off of the Earth’s atmosphere. A blood moon also only happens during a LUNAR eclipse, not a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse is when the light from the sun is eclipsed, or blocked by the moon, this in turn causes a cool effect where the moon looks like a void black sphere surrounded by yellow or white light. A lunar eclipse is when the light from the sun is stopped from reaching and reflecting the moon causing the moon to resort to reflecting already reflected sunlight. Although the blood moon looks super cool, blood moons sadly don’t have any actual astronomical significance. However although it has no actual astronomical or scientifical significance, in some books a blood moon can signify the beginning of the end and is mentioned in the Book of Joel as “the end” as the sun becomes dark and the moon turns to blood. That’s cool and all, but when and where did this happen, and what were the prime viewing spots? – You may be asking, the best viewing areas were Eastern United States, Canada, South America, Western Africa, South America, and of course Western United States. And obviously it was visible a little after the moon rose or near 8pm PDT. 

In summary, there was a blood moon on the night of May 2022! You can now tell all your family friends that you actually know how this phenomenon actually happened. I hope that if you did manage to catch a glimpse of the Blood Moon with your family or friends that you had a good time watching and enjoyed the view. If you missed this blood moon, don’t worry, you’re not alone. After interviewing multiple 7th graders, many stated that they didn’t even know there was a Blood Moon this month. However, according to cnn.com  there will be 7 more beautiful full moons in 2022. This includes a “strawberry moon” on June 14, a “buck moon” on July 13, A “sturgeon moon” on August 11, a “harvest moon” on September 10, a “hunter’s moon” on October 9, a “beaver moon” on November 8, and a “cold moon” on December 7. So if you missed the one this month, you can still see a great sight later in the year.