A front-row seat for the lunar eclipse
Published 10:18 am Tuesday, April 15, 2014
The moon takes on a red cast as it falls nearly 100 percent into the earth’s shadow during early Tuesday morning’s lunar eclipse. To the lower right, a star is also captured. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
People across North and South America were treated to the first eclipse of the year early this morning — in color.
The moon was eclipsed by Earth’s shadow. The total lunar eclipse was visible across the Western Hemisphere. The total phase lasted about 78 minutes, beginning at 2:06 a.m. and going until about 3:24 a.m.
Even though the moon was in the Earth’s shadow, it appeared a bit colorful, some shade of red or orange. That’s from light around the edges of the Earth — essentially sunrises and sunsets — splashing on the lunar surface and faintly lighting up the moon, said Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine.
If you missed Tuesday’s “blood moon,” don’t worry. You will have more chances. This was the first of what is known as a tetrad or four consecutive total lunar eclipses. The next one will take place on Oct. 8, with another following on April 8, 2015, and then another on Sept. 28, 2015.
In all, four eclipses will occur this year, two lunar and two solar.
