A Blue Banded Blood Moon

What causes a blue band to injurious the Moon all thru a lunar eclipse? The blue band is true nonetheless once in some time barely laborious to gaze. The featured HDR image of final week’s lunar eclipse, nonetheless — taken from Norman, Oklahoma (USA) — has been digitally processed to magnify the colors. The grey shade on the upper factual of the tip lunar image is the Moon’s pure shade, at once illuminated by sunlight. The decrease parts of the Moon on all three photos are circuitously lit by the Solar because it’s far being eclipsed — it’s far in the Earth’s shadow. It is far faintly lit, even supposing, by sunlight that has handed deep thru Earth’s atmosphere. This part of the Moon is red — and called a blood Moon — for the identical motive that Earth’s sunsets are red: because air scatters away more blue gentle than red. The uncommon pink-blue band visible on the upper factual of the tip and heart photos is assorted — its shade is augmented by sunlight that has handed high thru Earth’s atmosphere, the put red gentle is higher absorbed by ozone than blue. Celestial Surprise: What image did APOD feature on your birthday? (submit 1995)