Much of the Western Hemisphere – including all of the United States and Canada – was treated to a great view of a relatively rare event: a total lunar eclipse and “Blood Worm Moon” the evening of March 13-14. The celestial event reached totality between 1:26-2:31 a.m. Friday, with the moon turning blood red as it passed through Earth’s darkest shadow, the penumbra. The entire event was over by 5 a.m. Friday. The event was clearly visible to the naked eye.
NASA explains that the “blood red” color is caused by the same phenomenon that colors our sky blue, and our sunsets red. Full sunlight may appear white, but it is made up of a full spectrum of light colors each with its own physical properties. Blue light (making the sky blue) scatters easily while passing through Earth’s atmosphere. But reddish light travels
“When the Sun is high on a clear day, we see blue light scattered throughout the sky overhead. At sunrise and sunset, when the Sun is near the horizon, incoming sunlight travels a longer, low-angle path through Earth’s atmosphere to observers on the round. The bluer part of the sunlight scatters away in the distance (where it’s still daytime), and only the yellow-to-red part of the spectrum reaches our eyes,” reads a NASA web page on the subject.
The Moon appears red/orange during a lunar eclipse because the sunlight that is not blocked by the Earth is filtered through a thick slice of Earth’s atmosphere.
While partial lunar eclipses may occur up to three times a year, the next total lunar eclipse in Minnesota will be March 3, 2026, according to NOAA.