Rare ‘blood moon' lunar eclipse lights up the sky in red
A rare ' blood moon ' has risen over much of the world.
The phenomenon – more scientifically known as a partial lunar eclipse, where the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon – sees the lunar surface go dark and then turn red.
What light is reaching the Moon has been refracted by the Sun's atmosphere, which gives it the deep red colour that has lent it its more dramatic name.
Ashley Cooper, from Freshwater in the Isle of Wight, was pleasantly surprised to see the blood moon from a field near his house.
'I didn't actually expect to see anything,' the 31-year-old gardener told the PA news agency.
'I just happened to wake up early, and knowing it was taking place, I looked out and saw it.
'I grabbed my binoculars and headed to a field near my home to watch the eclipse develop.
'It was lovely and clear until just before the moon set, a low haze obscured the moonset.'
Astronomer Jake Foster, at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: 'When the Earth comes between the sun and the moon, the only sunlight that can reach the moon must first pass through the Earth's atmosphere.
'As sunlight enters the atmosphere, different wavelengths (and therefore colours) of light will be scattered and bounced around by differing amounts. Blue light scatters a great deal, which is why our skies are blue.
'Red light is mostly unaffected by the gases of the atmosphere, so it travels all the way through them and out the other side where it can shine on the moon, making it appear red.'
The moon started to turn red at around 5.30am and became most visible just before 6.30am.
The last total lunar eclipse was in May 2022 when the moon turned completely red.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Out
8 hours ago
- Time Out
A strawberry moon will light up Canadian skies tonight
Get ready for a rare skywatching moment that won't return until 2043. On the heels of April's Pink Moon, June's full moon—commonly called the Strawberry Moon (a name derived from Native American cultures to mark the ripened strawberry)—will be on display this evening. Bonus? The already low June moon will appear even lower due to the Feat Lunar Standstill. Smoky Canadian skies could give this Strawberry Moon a reddish hue. What is a Great Lunar Standstill? The Great Lunar Standstill happens roughly every 18.6 years, when the northernmost and southernmost moonrise and moonset are furthest apart. The celestial happening is visible to the naked eye under clear skies. When can I see the Strawberry Moon? Peak illumination will occur at 3:44 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. How can I see the Strawberry Moon? If you want to see the Moon looking especially large, head outside around sunset and look to the eastern horizon. Or, if you're an early riser, catch it setting in the west before sunrise. In both cases, the Moon will appear unusually big thanks to the Moon Illusion.
The Independent
8 hours ago
- The Independent
A ‘rare' moon only visible every 19 years will light up skies tonight
The "Strawberry Moon," June's full moon, will be visible in the night sky, reaching its fullest on the evening of June 10th and into the morning of June 11th. The name "Strawberry Moon" comes from its appearance during the harvesting season for strawberries, not from the Moon's actual colour. The Moon may appear pink due to light scattering through Earth's atmosphere when it's near the horizon. This month's Moon will be low in the sky due to a "major lunar standstill," an event that occurs every 19 years. When low on the horizon, the Moon can appear larger due to the contrast with objects on the horizon, potentially making it seem bigger than a super moon.
The Independent
8 hours ago
- The Independent
Strawberry moon 2025: When will June's full moon rise and how to see it
The world is about to be treated to a rare kind of 'Strawberry Moon ' when it rises in the sky tonight. It will reach its fullest moment on the evening of 10 June and into the morning of the 11th, though will be visible for a few days afterwards. It will rise in the evening as normal and should be easily visible in the night sky. Unlike other celestial spectacles, it doesn't need any particular preparation or equipment – seeing the pink moon just means going out and looking up. There are ways to make the process a little easier, however. It might be useful to look up the exact time of moonrise, for instance, and apps such as Dark Sky can be used to locate where the Moon is sitting in the sky. The 'Strawberry Moon' name doesn't refer to anything about the Moon itself. Instead, it is just the name given to June's full moon, and is apparently taken from the fact that it tends to appear around harvesting season for the fruit. But it may appear a little pink. This month's Moon will be relatively near the horizon, and when that happens the light that hits it can be scattered through our Earth's atmosphere, giving the planet a red, orange or pink tinge. This month's Moon is also notable for another reason. It will sit very low in the sky – known as a 'major lunar standstill' – which only happens every 19 years. When the Moon is low in the sky, it appears larger because of the contrast with the objects visible on the horizon. The effect can actually mean that it looks much bigger than at the times it gets the name ' supermoon ', when it is closer to us but can appear smaller if it is high in the sky.
