blood moon
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.55 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The moon as it appears during a total lunar eclipse.
Example Sentences
- "Just after two o'clock in the morning, the moon went into eclipse, fading to a deep red and casting a pall over the mountainside. Viewing the blood moon as an ominous sign, the Confederates used it to cloak their flight."
- "“Because the Earth has an atmosphere, it doesn’t completely block the light on the moon. Some of the red light actually bends through the Earth’s atmosphere and lights up the moon during a total eclipse, and that’s the rusty red, blood moon,” said SubbaRao."
- "Sky gazers in India and in other parts of the world will be able to witness a blood moon on September 7 during a total lunar eclipse. The moon will take on a dark red-copper hue. This is the result of a physical effect called Rayleigh scattering. During a total lunar eclipse, the earth comes between the sun and the moon, blocking direct sunlight from striking the lunar surface. However, not all sunlight is blocked. Only the bluer light is filtered out; the redder light is scattered by the earth's atmosphere, giving the moon its striking colour."
Etymology
From its reddish appearance.