When it comes to different astronomical events, each of them have specific reasons and some history that make them either special or worth knowing, and while we may be familiar with solar and lunar eclipses in general but we seldom know the types and details of these eclipses.

A Blood Moon

Now when this phenomenon occurs, many wonder why does the moon turn red and to put it as precisely as possible, the blood moon definition, is when a total lunar eclipse occurs giving it a red shade or commonly known as the “moon turned to blood”.

Now this occurrence is not as simple as a total lunar eclipse, to fully understand what causes a blood moon is to understand the proper blood moon definition which is referred to as the series of special four complete lunar eclipses in a row that occur at 6 lunar months intervals. Where the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun.

Why does the moon turn red?

To look into the phenomenon of finding out why does the moon turn red one has to know some facts about the blood moon and the most primary one being that the moon does not literally turn red but what happens is, that all the light is blocked from the Sun. Only some of the light reaches the moon through the atmosphere of the Earth, causing many of the blood moons in history.

The blood moon prophecy

As we discuss some of the scientific reasoning for what causes a blood moon, it was not always like that and there are some ancient stories attached to it giving this occurrence a completely new dimension. In particular around the blood moon definition and it having a spiritual meaning where the blood moon in the bible is discussed by Blitz and Hagee where they mentioned about it in 2014-15.

Even more so it is said that they are the ones who popularized the term “Blood Moon” in particular Hagee, in his book in 2013. On one side it is more of an astronomical event and tells more about how and when is the next blood moon or how different is this occurring when compared to a total solar eclipse or a total lunar eclipse.

On the other side when seeing why does the moon turn red is linked to the end of times as mentioned in Joel 2:31 where blood moon in the bible is taken as a sign for the emergence of Jesus. There may or may not be a discussion or mention of four blood moons in the bible but this one instance too gives it credibility.

In other folklores the blood moon symbolism is associated to witches and supernatural instances which also gives the blood moon spiritual meaning for it.

How often is there a blood moon?

Now for it to be a blood moon it has to go through the process of “four tetrads” which we explained above which is having four back to back total lunar eclipses which makes a blood moon. This was however the former and more detailed description of why does the moon turn red, but more recently all the events of a total lunar eclipse in a tetrad are called blood moons.

So how many blood moons have there been becomes hard to number. However if we were to give an answer to how often is there a blood moon, well, it doesn’t happen very often because if we combine the total number of tetrads from the 1st century to date according to the blood moon calendar there have only been 62 tetrads. So what does a blood moon mean can simply be put as a rare occurrence.

When was the last blood moon?

If we were to mention the blood moon dates in terms of years, there have been a total of 8 tetrads in the ongoing century but in the centuries of 17, 18 and 19 there had been no tetrads, which completes the blood moon definition.

Therefore, to put a definite blood moon meaning around its dates is insignificant. The latest blood moon took place in April 2014 and October 2014; which was a short lived one.

When is the next blood moon?

To look into when is the next blood moon we can say that the number of occurrences for a blood moon have certainly increased over the centuries and we can expect the next blood moon by 2032-33.

This date is according to a tetrad happening which is more likely to happen for this century in particular, considering how many blood moons have there been till now.

One thing that is certain is that this will not be the last blood moon for sure, so if you’re haven’t yet spotted it yourself, you still have a chance.

What makes a blood moon?

To sum it all up and giving a complete brief around what causes a blood moon and the true blood moon definition, we can say that it is when four back to back full lunar eclipses occur at 6 months intervals and its occurrence regarding the blood moon prophecy is mainly due to it being mentioned in the bible.

Now, as to why does the moon turn red is because of the earth lining in between the Moon and the Earth where the Moon is hidden off from the sunlight where the source is from the Earth’s atmosphere giving it the feeling of a moon turned to blood.

Summary

However nowadays all of the four occurrences are called a blood moon with no real distinction between them. Another reason to why does the moon turn red is because of the haze or dust in the sky or because of the full moons of autumn. These might be happening twice a year but might not be visible in all areas and this is partly due to the commonly accepted not so true definition of what causes a blood moon, where it might appear red in any of the four instances that make a blood moon.

Now if you liked this article make sure to also check out the following ones for even more in-depth information about the solar system:

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Maria Chan

Author at Dope Guides

I am a Space enthusiast and have been into deep space research for over 8 years. Inspired by the likes of Mary Robinette Kowal and others to write great content.