A recent blood Moon in the Pacific Northwest attracted 3 million people to bear witness to the total lunar eclipse. Worldwide, nearly 3 billion people were able to see it.
The blood Moon began at around midnight on March 3, for us here on the Pacific Coast. Three hours later, at around 3 a.m. P.S.T., the blood Moon reached its totality – its entire surface covered by a deep red. This effect lasted for about an hour.
The last blood Moon occurred on Sept. 7, 2025, only a few months after one on March 3, 2025. Unfortunately, an associate director for science communication in the heliophysics science division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Dr. C. Alex Young, mentioned, “This eclipse is the last of three consecutive total lunar eclipses.”
The next total lunar eclipse won’t be visible until over two years from now on Dec. 31, 2028.
A blood Moon is caused by a total lunar eclipse – when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on it. Rather than completely blocking the light, the Earth’s atmosphere bends and filters it, scattering blue light while allowing red and orange wavelengths to reach the Moon. This gives the Moon the red lighting that we have named as a “Blood Moon.”
However, lunar eclipses usually come in three different phases.
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The first phase of an eclipse is known as the penumbral eclipse, caused when a full Moon enters Earth’s outer shadow in space, known as the penumbra (shown in the image above). This is the slightest change – the Moon only loses some of its brightness for a few hours.
The second phase is known as a partial lunar eclipse, when the Moon is moving through the penumbra and also a bit of the umbra. During a partial eclipse, the Earth’s shadow can be seen moving across it, turning part of it red – however, this can rarely be seen to the naked eye due to the brightness of the rest of the moon.
In the final stage, the moon slowly gets covered in a deep reddish-brown, fully in the Earth’s umbra. It usually lasts for around 30-100 minutes.
So, on Dec. 31, 2028, when the next blood Moon occurs, sit back, relax, and hope there are no clouds.