MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa
The clouds cleared, and the ‘blood moon’ lunar eclipse was visible across Michigan. I witnessed the ‘blood moon’ and found it to be not too bloody. Why? Astronomers like Richard Walker, from Flint’s Longway Planetarium, tell me there is no such official term as a ‘blood moon.’
Every lunar eclipse has the chance of being red. The light cast on the moon from Earth has a reddish tone. During an eclipse, we are seeing all of Earth’s sunrises and sunsets at the same time. But it’s really the weather conditions and atmospheric conditions at the time of the eclipse that produces more or less red. It’s also a very localized phenomena. The lunar eclipse could be very red here in Michigan and less red in Wisconsin. Water vapor and dust in the air are the two items that can produce red skies. The particles of dust and droplets of water vapor block out part of the light from the moon or sun, and allow us to see more red light. Volcanic ash high in the atmosphere will do the same thing.
