Last Blood Moon of 2015

A blood red moon seen from Houston, Texas on April 15, 2014

The last of our four blood moons of 2015, or four total lunar eclipses, is this Sunday night, Sept. 27.  Typically there will be two lunar eclipses a year, and they can be partial, penumbral or total. You’ll have to wait more than two years to see the next total eclipse, which will be on Jan. 31, 2018.

To have four total eclipses, or a tetrad, in a row is an extremely rare event but not unprecedented. Between 1600 and 1900, there were no tetrads. What is also unique about this tetrad is all have been and will be seen in the United States.

A total eclipse of the moon is when the moon falls completely into Earth’s shadow. The moon turns red because all of the light from the sun is blocked, and only the color red is reflected to the moon. If you were on the surface of the moon and looked at Earth, you would see every sunrise and sunset around the world on the edge of Earth — and that color would also be red.

It will also be a supermoon or the full moon that is at its closest point to Earth in it’s monthly orbit, also called the perigee.  If you live along the coastline watch for this full moon to bring wide ranging spring tides.  That is, high tides climb extra high and low tides fall exceptionally low.  The next Supermoon/Lunar Eclipse won’t be until 2033. This full moon is also called the Harvest Moon, the moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox.

On the west coast, the eclipse will occur during moonrise. If the skies are clear, we’ll be able to see the moon turn a blood red early in the evening.

In Los Angeles at 6:07 p.m. Sunday, the moon will begin to move into Earth’s shadow. Because moonrise isn’t until 6:43 p.m., we will not see this.  The total eclipse begins at 7:11 p.m. with the peak at 7:47 p.m. Totality ends at 8:23 p.m., and the moon moves out of Earth’s shadow at 9:27 p.m.  This image shows it well.

Right now it looks like a great forecast for Southern California with clear skies. If you get a great picture of the Blood Moon, please post it on my Facebook page, or tag @anthonynbcla on Twitter or Instagram and include #NBC4You. Your picture may get on TV.

mikemezphotography.com

This is my all time favorite blood moon picture captured by Mike Mezeul II.  This is his time lapse from the Texas Hill Country.

This is a really good YouTube video explaining everything about the blood moons the past two years.

You may have heard how the blood moons signal the end of the world or the apocalypse. These total lunar eclipses fall on the same days as the Jewish feasts of Passover in the spring and Sukkoth (Tabernacles) in the fall. This website looks at past blood moons and attempts to make a correlation of bad things to come.

If you’re in Houston, this total eclipse will begin at 9:11 p.m. and end at 10:23 p.m. In Albuquerque, it will begin at 8:11 p.m. and end at 9:23 p.m.