Blood Moon

Total lunar eclipse in conjunction with Spica, close to Mars.

When the Earth sits directly between the sun and moon, the shadow of the Earth results in a total lunar eclipse. The coppery red coloration of the moon is not unusual during such an event, but the occurrence of a lunar tetrad, four consecutive total lunar eclipses at six lunar months apart, is a bit more uncommon - depending on the century. While the term blood moon can be applied to all total lunar eclipses, it should be noted that Blood Moon is also the folklore name of the full moon after the Harvest Moon. As autumn full moons rise soon after sunset, the moon often has a red look due to there being more atmosphere earning it its name; however, the second of the lunar tetrad will occur on October 8, the night of the Blood Moon.