{"id":11824,"date":"2025-09-14T19:44:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T16:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/?p=11824"},"modified":"2025-09-22T18:30:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T15:30:55","slug":"what-is-it-blood-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n

By Aikaterini Niovi Triantafillaki <\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? From the first explanations to today. <\/p>\n\n

What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?<\/p>\n\n

Blood or red moons fueled many myths over the centuries before science explained them.<\/p>\n\n

For the Vikings, two wolves\u2014Sk\u00f6ll and Hati\u2014chase the Sun and the Moon, and an eclipse happens when they catch them. In West African tribes, human anger was projected onto the celestial bodies; the eclipse is the result of their battle. During it, people were to make peace so that harmony would return between Sun and Moon. For the Egyptians, a pig nibbled the Moon for a while; for the Maya it was a jaguar, and in ancient China a three-legged frog\u2014the \u201cred\u201d Moon was seen as blood from that near-meal. To keep the Moon from being eaten, each culture tried to ward off the hunter with rituals and customs\u2014because who knows: if it ate the Moon, the Earth might be next! <\/p>\n\n

From myths we move to ancient Greece, which correctly inferred Earth\u2019s sphericity and the motions of the heavenly bodies, while records of eclipses have been found in ancient China and South American cultures.<\/p>\n\n

And today, as we await September\u2019s upcoming red Moon, let\u2019s first clarify: a \u201cblood moon\u201d is a total lunar eclipse\u2014the scientific definition of the phenomenon!<\/p>\n\n

Lunar eclipses (we’ll talk about solar eclipses later, ( see. 12 August 2026 <\/a>) occur when Earth passes between the Sun and the moon and our shadow falls on the Moon.<\/p>\n\n

There are two kinds of \u201cshadow\u201d: the penumbra, the partially shaded outer region, and the umbra, the fully shaded inner region. The first makes the edges look somewhat dimmer, and the second is the darker main part. When the Moon is in Earth\u2019s umbra, we see it turn red. <\/p>\n\n

But why red? It has to do with Earth\u2019s atmosphere! As sunlight enters and is refracted\/scattered through the air, the red wavelengths make it through. Bluer light is scattered more strongly by air molecules, whereas red light travels more easily. Also, the warmer the air\u2014or the more dust or clouds there are\u2014the redder the Moon will look, since heated air molecules and particles favor warmer hues (that\u2019s also why sunsets are warmer than dawn\u2014see here<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n

Sources:<\/p>\n\n

1.https:\/\/science.howstuffworks.com\/blood-moon.htm<\/a><\/p>\n\n

2. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lunar_eclipse<\/a><\/p>\n\n

3.https:\/\/nso.edu\/for-public\/eclipse-map-2026\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n

4.https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/worldbuilding\/comments\/2ind5n\/in_honor_of_the_blood_moon_what_myths_do_your\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n

5.https:\/\/vikingr.org\/other-beings\/skoll-hati?srsltid=AfmBOoqyGVEcwBOypCfFIKdDA7RQFo9gDgCfpjGiBSZHjg79Dp98J7Qe<\/a><\/p>\n\n

6.https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/list\/the-sun-was-eaten-6-ways-cultures-have-explained-eclipses<\/a><\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse? […]<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3119,139,393],"tags":[1914,3137,3109,3136,3130,3132,2816,3131,1868,3135,1521,3133,3134,371],"class_list":["post-11824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-14-en","category-issues-en","category-what-is-en","tag-astronomy-en","tag-blood","tag-blood-moon-en","tag-hati-en","tag-planetary-atmosphere-en","tag-red","tag-red-moon","tag-red-moon-en","tag-science-en-2","tag-skoll-en","tag-space-en","tag-total-moon-eclipse","tag-viking","tag--en"],"yoast_head":"\nWHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON | UNI-MAG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON | UNI-MAG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UNI-MAG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-14T16:44:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-22T15:30:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1334\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5404f8a9dae2ffa2c5a0a296fb1a5662\"},\"headline\":\"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-14T16:44:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T15:30:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":455,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Astronomy\",\"blood\",\"blood moon\",\"Hati\",\"Planetary Atmosphere\",\"red\",\"Red Moon\",\"Red moon\",\"Science\",\"Sk\u00f6ll\",\"space\",\"total moon eclipse\",\"Viking\",\"\u03a3\u03b5\u03bb\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ISSUE 14\",\"ISSUES\",\"WHAT IS?\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/\",\"name\":\"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON | UNI-MAG\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-14T16:44:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T15:30:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg\",\"width\":1334,\"height\":750},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/what-is-it-blood-moon\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u0391\u03c1\u03c7\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"UNI-MAG\",\"description\":\"the magazine of the universe\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UNI-MAG\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"UNI-MAG\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5404f8a9dae2ffa2c5a0a296fb1a5662\",\"name\":\"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/025b5e08dcf006fbc2da4cf2a26b1b97f38c8acec53d6c1e3c8f4d489021aa1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/025b5e08dcf006fbc2da4cf2a26b1b97f38c8acec53d6c1e3c8f4d489021aa1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/025b5e08dcf006fbc2da4cf2a26b1b97f38c8acec53d6c1e3c8f4d489021aa1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uni-mag.gr\\\/en\\\/author\\\/aikaterininiovitriantafyllaki\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON | UNI-MAG","description":"Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON | UNI-MAG","og_description":"Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/","og_site_name":"UNI-MAG","article_published_time":"2025-09-14T16:44:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-22T15:30:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1334,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/"},"author":{"name":"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5404f8a9dae2ffa2c5a0a296fb1a5662"},"headline":"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON","datePublished":"2025-09-14T16:44:27+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-22T15:30:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/"},"wordCount":455,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg","keywords":["Astronomy","blood","blood moon","Hati","Planetary Atmosphere","red","Red Moon","Red moon","Science","Sk\u00f6ll","space","total moon eclipse","Viking","\u03a3\u03b5\u03bb\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7"],"articleSection":["ISSUE 14","ISSUES","WHAT IS?"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/","name":"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON | UNI-MAG","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-14T16:44:27+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-22T15:30:55+00:00","description":"Why do we see the Moon \u201cblood-red\u201d? What is a \u201cblood moon,\u201d and how is it different from a total lunar eclipse?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/what-is-it-red-moon-header.jpg","width":1334,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/what-is-it-blood-moon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0391\u03c1\u03c7\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae","item":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"WHAT IS IT? BLOOD MOON"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/","name":"UNI-MAG","description":"the magazine of the universe","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#organization","name":"UNI-MAG","url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"UNI-MAG"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/5404f8a9dae2ffa2c5a0a296fb1a5662","name":"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/025b5e08dcf006fbc2da4cf2a26b1b97f38c8acec53d6c1e3c8f4d489021aa1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/025b5e08dcf006fbc2da4cf2a26b1b97f38c8acec53d6c1e3c8f4d489021aa1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/025b5e08dcf006fbc2da4cf2a26b1b97f38c8acec53d6c1e3c8f4d489021aa1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Aikaterini Niovi Triantafyllaki"},"url":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/author\/aikaterininiovitriantafyllaki\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uni-mag.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}