Blood moon eclipse on April 15 is a special event

(Photo: Conrad Jung, Chabot Space and Science Center)

What's more, this begins a rare sequence of four total lunar eclipses expected over the next two years.

Some Christians see this series of so-called blood moons as linked to a biblical prophecy of the End Times.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon line up so the Earth's shadow falls on the moon, darkening it.

The one on April 15 will begin at 1:20 a.m. on the East Coast, according to Sky and Telescope magazine.

"Eclipses are one of the few astronomical events that can easily be enjoyed with the naked eye," though a pair of binoculars brings it into even greater focus, said astronomy writer Gary Kronk.

As it begins, "the Earth's shadow will make a slow crawl across the moon's face, appearing as if there is an increasingly large 'bite' taken out of the moon," said Deborah Byrd with EarthSky.org, an online science magazine.

At first, the full moon will just appear to be a little darker than normal, "but eventually people will notice a much darker arc moving across the moon, with a distinct rusty reddish-brown color," said astronomer Gerald McKeegan at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, Calif.

The bloody red color the moon takes on during an eclipse is caused by refraction of sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere.

A total lunar eclipse photographed by astronomy writer Gary Kronk on Feb. 20, 2008, from his back yard observatory near St. Louis.(Photo: Gary Kronk)

"It is the same effect that you see when the sun turns reddish-orange at sunset, only in this case the refracted sunlight projects all the way to the moon," McKeegan said.

This eclipse also features an extra astronomical quirk. Mars will appear "as a fiery red 'star' next to the moon. Together red Mars and the red shadow on the moon's face should be a spectacular sight and an incredible photo opportunity," said Byrd.

The only downside to this month's lunar eclipse is that it comes very late at night for most of America.

However, many observatories and science museums will have special events during the eclipse. For those where it's cloudy, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles will be streaming the event live.

The April 15 eclipse marks the start of a lunar tetrad. That event occurs when there are four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six full moons.

A book out last year, Four Blood Moons: Something is about to change, suggests the event could be a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

In it, John Hagee writes that the red disks of the moon during the full eclipses are referred to in the book of Joel 2:31: "The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come."

The other three eclipses of this lunar tetrad are on Oct. 8 of this year and then April 8 and Sept. 28 of 2015.

Tetrads are by no means unknown, says Byrd. There will be a total of eight lunar tetrads between 2001 and 2100.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/03/lunar-eclipse-april-1...

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Permalink Reply by truth on April 4, 2014 at 1:13pm

I saw one of these in 1971, was so fricking cool

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Permalink Reply by Ragnarok on April 4, 2014 at 2:58pm

They've promised blood-rain here in the weekend. :-) Hoping it will look beautiful.

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Permalink Reply by truth on April 14, 2014 at 1:51pm

Apr 15, 2014 Total Lunar Eclipse

A total lunar eclipse will occur on April 15, 2014. It will be visible from North America, South America and Australia. Parts of Asia, Africa and Europe will see a partial eclipse.

The penumbral phase of the eclipse will begin at 4:55 AM (04:55) UTC on April 15 and the eclipse will end at 10:36 AM (10:36) UTC on April 15.

This eclipse is the first in a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, also known as a tetrad. Read more

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Permalink Reply by truth on April 14, 2014 at 9:18pm

For most U.S. states east of the Mississippi River, tonight's total lunar eclipse will likely turn out to be a total bust

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Permalink Reply by Tara on April 14, 2014 at 9:24pm

I know we won't be seeing it here in WI. It finally stopped raining and now it's starting to snow lightly because it's fricking cold out again. Not only that but it's been overcast all day... dark and dreary skies. What a bummer :(

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Permalink Reply by Less Prone on April 14, 2014 at 9:23pm

This probably has a very bloody meaning for the ruling cabal deeply immersed in the ancient mysteries of astrotheology, astrology and mystery Babylon.

Whore of Babylon *1 running a seven headed beast *2; Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US and the EU. The war maniacs are pushing for the third world war with unprecedented carnage and suffering.

*1 Abomination = Obamanation, This is not a coincidence. He's the president because of his name married to a transvestite.

Revelation 17:5 "The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." 6And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly."

*2 G7 Countries

Note 1; either the prophet was really good or the ruling cabal is implementing the prophecy.

Note 2; Sequence of the red moons and the six full moons three times; blood moon, six full moons, blood moon, six full moons, blood moon, six full moons, blood moon, must have the mystery freaks jumping in aroused anticipation of blood bath and whatever the number 666 represents to them.