00:00Imagine looking up and seeing the moon glowing a deep spooky red like it's straight out
00:04of a horror movie.
00:04This is not some magic trick or a scary omen.
00:07It is actually one of the coolest light shows in our solar system.
00:10So what exactly is a blurred moon anyway?
00:12A blurred moon is just a poetic name for a total lunar eclipse, which happens when the
00:16Earth slides perfectly between the sun and the moon.
00:19It is a real statistical event where Earth's shadow gives the moon its dramatic crimson
00:22color.
00:23Does the moon actually change its physical shape or start bleeding?
00:26No, the moon does not actually bleed or change its shape.
00:28It only looks dead because of how sunlight interacts with our atmosphere.
00:32How does the alignment work to make this happen?
00:34For this to work, the sun, Earth, and moon have to line up in perfect harmony during a full
00:38moon.
00:38Earth moves directly into the middle, casting its darkest shadow which scientists call the
00:42umbra straight onto the lunar surface.
00:45If the Earth is blocking the sun, shouldn't the moon just go completely dark and disappear?
00:49You would think so, Bill.
00:50But even though Earth blocks the direct sunlight, our atmosphere acts like a joint lens.
00:54This brings up the big question.
00:56Why does the shadow look red instead of just black?
00:58The secret is something called red egg scattering, which is the same reason why our skies are
01:02blue during the day and red at sunset.
01:04As sunlight hits Earth's atmosphere, the gas molecules scatter the short wavelength blue
01:08light in all directions.
01:10But the longer wavelength red and orange light passes right through, our atmosphere bends
01:14that red light and projects it onto the moon, essentially acting like a giant sunset filter
01:18for the planet.
01:19If you stood on the moon during an eclipse, you would witness a spectacular Earth eclipse,
01:24where you would see a glowing red ring around our planet.
01:27That ring is basically every single sunset and sunrise on Earth happening at the exact
01:31same time and reflecting off the lunar surface.
01:34Does the moon always look the same shade of red every time this happens?
01:37Actually no, because the color can vary from a bright copper orange to a very dark rusty
01:41red, depending on what is floating in our air.
01:44If there have been recent volcanic eruptions, the ash and dust in the atmosphere can make
01:48the moon look much darker or even brownish.
01:50What did people think of this before we had science to explain it?
01:53Throughout history, many cultures were absolutely terrified of the red moon and saw it as an omen
01:58of war or plague.
01:59The ancient Incas believed a giant red group was attacking and hitting the moon, so they
02:03would scream wave spears and beat their dogs to make them howl and scare the cat away.
02:07In ancient China, people thought a celestial dragon was devouring the moon and would bang
02:11drums and ports to rescue it.
02:12Ancient Mesopotamians even thought the red moon was a threat to their king, so they would
02:16hide them in and put a substitute king in his place until the eclipse passed to observe
02:21any bedlock.
02:22On the flip side, some Native American tribes saw it as a time for the moon to heal or as
02:26a moment
02:27of cleansing and renewal.
02:28Is it safe to watch a blood moon with our own eyes?
02:31Unlike a solar eclipse, where you need those special cardboard glasses, a blood moon is
02:35100% safe to watch with the naked eyes.
02:37You do not need any fancy telescopes or equipment, you just need to step outside on the night side
02:42of Earth when it is happening.
02:44Watching a blood moon is like seeing space signs in action right over your head, reminding
02:48us how everything in our solar system is connected.
02:50Do not need any money.
02:51Do not need anyby.
02:54Do not need any
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