‘Blood Moon’ to bathe Earth with red light in total lunar eclipse
It is the first total lunar eclipse since 2022, but there will be another this September
A “Blood Moon” will bathe a large swathe of the world in red light on Thursday night during a rare total lunar eclipse.
Skygazers will be able to witness the celestial spectacle in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as parts of western Europe and Africa.
It is the first total lunar eclipse since 2022, but there will be another this September.
The phenomenon happens when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up, and our planet casts a giant shadow across its satellite.
But as the Earth’s shadow creeps across the Moon, it does not entirely blot out its white glow.
Instead it turns a reddish colour as sunlight filtered through Earth’s atmosphere is refracted off the Moon’s surface.
The lunar eclipse will last around six hours.