‘Blood Moon’ Lunar Eclipse Is Back, And The Tetrad Continues

The blood moon is back, and notably bigger than the last one which appeared in April – 5.3 percent larger to be precise.

The “blood moon”, as it’s called by many, is actually the moon appearing orange or red as a result of sunlight scattering off the atmosphere. Those in the Americas and East Asia were treated to the amazing spectacle – with the western half of the United States getting a front row seat to the astounding lunar eclipse. The full eclipse started at about 6:25 a.m. ET and lasted around an hour.

This blood moon is just the second of four consecutive lunar eclipses with another one set to occur on April 4, 2015 and then again on September 28, 2015. The series of four successive lunar eclipses is referred to as a tetrad – and in the 21st century alone, there will be eight tetrads, something not commonplace in centuries past. According to NASA, lunar eclipses occur in random order – so getting four blood moons in a row is pretty cool, to say the least, and quite rare.

NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak stated that before the beginning of the 20th century, there was a 300-year period where there were no tetrads, which was between 1582 and 1908.

Some people see this morning’s blood moon as a sign from the heavens, a warning if you must, of impending changes in our near future. According to renowned pastor and author of “Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change”, John Hagee, the tetrad holds religious significance, particularly because the first two blood moons align with the Jewish holy days of Passover and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacle). Overall, the recent blood moons have, and will, coincide with the Passover on April 15, 2014; the Sukkot on October 8, 2014; the 2015 Passover on April 4; and the 2015 Sukkot on September 28.

This is only the fourth time in the last five hundred years that this is occurring – and according to Hagee, any change brought by the four blood moons will impact Israel. The previous three dates included the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the years right after Israel was declared a nation-state in 1949-50 and the Six-Day War in 1967. Hagee, speaking to Fox News, stated that this tetrad signals the end of the modern era.

One should note, however, that the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar – and the holy days are set based on the clockwork of the moon’s phases.

With that said, the brilliant hues of the blood moon witnessed by many this morning seemed to have mostly brought on a feeling of awe, as pictures flooded the internet of momentary captures of the celestial phenomena. Unfortunately, people in Europe, Africa and the Middle East were not able to see the blood moon this time around.

Despite the theories that are brought on by these lunar spectacles, there’s not much to do but wait as only time will tell. Until then, you can feast your eyes on a few photos of the stunning sight that graced our skies.