Blood Moon Tetrad

Shown is a 200mm focal length image of the eclipsed moon at 3:06 AM CDT, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, as it began to move out of its totality phase as seen from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The image was a 1.6-second exposure at f/7.1 and 2000 ISO. This eclipse, the first of four total lunar eclipses in the next two years, is part of a rare tetrad--a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses that take place in six month intervals. The next three total lunar eclipses occur on October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015; and September 28, 2015. There were no tetrads between the years 1600 and 1900 and the next tetrad won't occur until 2032. The red hue of the moon during a total eclipse is due to sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere.