blood moon

noun

variants or Blood Moon

plural blood moons or Blood Moons

: a full moon that coincides with a full lunar eclipse and that has an unusually reddish appearance

Note: The red color of a blood moon is caused by the diffusion of the sun's light into the shadow cast by the Earth.

And when it [the full moon] is eclipsed by the shadow of the Earth, it is called a blood moon as it turns a crimson color.—

IFLSCIENCE.com (London)

Through the little windows over the deep double kitchen sink, I saw a big sliver of blood moon sinking below the distant mountains.—

David Erik Nelson

also : a full lunar eclipse during which a blood moon occurs

A blood moon is the unscientific name for a total lunar eclipse, which is when Earth passes in between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow over the moon as sunlight is blocked. —

BreakingNews.ie

Examples of blood moon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That phenomenon often creates a striking reddish hue known as the blood moon. —

The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2024 In November 2022, some ultraconservative Christian pastors said the approaching blood moon lunar eclipse portended a surge of Republican midterm wins. —

Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024 The last blood moon occurred in November 2022, and the next one won't occur until March 2025, according to Space.com. —

Carlie Procell, The Courier-Journal, 25 Jan. 2024 Despite being titled Paint My Bedroom Black, Holly Humberstone’s full-length debut is an amalgamation of flashing colors, moving from cerulean blue to super blood moon orange at hyper-speed. —

Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2023 In this Colonial-era house, a blood moon influences a bunch of moon worshippers to turn on anyone who doesn't follow their beliefs, with no one spared. —

Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 3 Sep. 2023 The 15-track album was inspired by the astrology behind a blood moon, and dabbled in multiple genres, including soul, R&B, pop, and música urbana. —

Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2023 To the disappointment of some observers, super blue moons don’t bathe in blue hues in the way that blood moons are cast in a specific light. —

Amudalat Ajasa, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Aug. 2023 The result is a lunar eclipse, also called a blood moon for the reddish shadow the Earth casts on the moon. —

Terri Robertson, Country Living, 31 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blood moon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.