The Next Blood Moon: October 8, 2014

Total Lunar Eclipse of October 8th

We're in for the second of four total lunar eclipses in 2014-2015. Next week the Full Moon slips into the shadow of the Earth and reveals itself as a 'blood moon' in the early morning sky of Wednesday October 8th. You'll need to be up in the wee hours of the night, as the eclipse reaches total phase at 3:25 am pacific time, where it will remain in total eclipse for an hour. Given our good weather in San Francisco, this should be nicely on display and the view from the west coast should be nice, if you can get out to the beach. The Moon itself will not be a 'super moon' but will be larger than most Full Moons, so it should be an awesome sight.

You can find more details on the Sky & Telescope website. You'll need clear skies and a good view of the sky to the southwest. It should be a dramatic blood-red color, as the Moon will move deep into the umbral shadow of the Earth.

This infographic from Guy-André Pierre-Nicolas of astroshop.eu is an excellent resource that illustrates beautifully many facets of a lunar eclipse.

Image courtesy of Sky & Telescope.