If you love all things celestial, then you’re in for a treat this September! Not only will September’s full moon illuminate the skies as a glowing, reddish Blood Moon, but it’s part of a total lunar eclipse… and the longest one in years, at that. Keep scrolling for all the details about the September full moon!
What is a total lunar eclipse?
During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the sun and the moon. The graphic above demonstrates what’s happening during the total lunar eclipse!
What makes it a Blood Moon?
The Weather Channel breaks it down,
As that sunlight moves through our atmosphere, shorter wavelengths (like blue) get scattered, or dispersed, to a greater extent than longer wavelengths (like red). Since the red light is less scattered, it gets refracted toward the moon, providing the ‘blood’ color these eclipses are so well known for.
In other words, the blood moon will be a glowing red color, giving it the ‘blood’ nickname. And yes, unlike the strawberry moon, which doesn’t really appear pink, the Blood Moon DOES appear reddish or orange in the sky!
When is the September full Blood Moon?
On the night of September 7th into the early morning on the 8th!
Wait, will I be able to see the lunar eclipse from Atlanta?
Unfortunately, no. The Blood Moon will be part of the longest total lunar eclipse since 2022, but the Western Hemisphere won’t be able to see it up in the nighttime sky.
Live Science says,
The eclipse will be best seen from Asia and Western Australia, where more than 6 billion people (nearly 77% of the world’s population) will be privy to the entire total phase of the eclipse
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the eclipse! You can watch a livestream of the event right here!
So look to the skies, Atlanta! And enjoy a spooky red moon to kick off your September.