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When is the next “blood moon” total lunar eclipse? In the wake of this week’s partial lunar eclipse visible across the U.S , you’ll be wondering what happened to the “blood moon” views that were common just a few years ago. After all, the view of Earth’s shadow moving across the moon before engulfing it completely to turn the lunar surface an orangey-reddish color is one of nature’s most beautiful sights.
The good news is that three are coming up soon, starting with the next lunar eclipse. That's because total lunar eclipses typically arrive in triads, or groups of three, inside one lunar year (354 days), accompanied by solar eclipses a few weeks before and/or after. This is the eclipse schedule for the next triad of total lunar eclipses: What Causes Solar And Lunar Eclipses The reason why solar and lunar eclipses don't happen every month is because the moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted by about 5 degrees compared to the Earth's orbit around the sun.
This means that most of the time, a new moon is either above or below the sun, and a full moon is above or below the Earth's shadow. No eclipses occur. However, they must happen.
The moon's orbital path around Earth is roughly around its equator, so it crosses the apparent path of the sun through the sky—the ecliptic—twice each month at specific points called nodes. When the moon reaches one of these nodes during a full moon or a new moon phase, it causes a lunar or a solar eclipse respectively. The alignment is such that another eclipse of the corresponding type two weeks later is inevitable when the moon reaches the other node.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes..
