Blood Moon: When to Watch and What to Look For
- Updated Sep 24, 2015
A rare blood moon will be visible this weekend and has many speculating on its divine significance.
The Christian Post reports that a blood moon occurs when the sun’s rays reflect on the earth’s atmosphere. This appears red to the naked eye. This causes the moon to take on a golden or reddish tint.
This weekend’s blood moon is particularly noteworthy because it is part of a tetrad--four blood moons in a short period of time. Blood moons usually occur only every few years, but one occurred in April 2014, October 2014, April 2015, and now the upcoming appearance this weekend in September.
The Christian Post reports that the blood moon will be visible to viewers across more than half of the planet. Almost 1 billion viewers in the Western Hemisphere will be able to see it, while it will be visible to another 1.5 million in Europe and Africa, along with 500 million in West Asia.
Many ascribe spiritual significance to the appearance of the blood moon, especially since the current one is part of a tetrad and the moon will also be at its perigee at the same time, which means it will be closest to the earth and will appear larger.
Evangelical pastor John Hagee stated that each time the blood moon occurred in history it was followed by tragedy and then triumph. He cites the instances of blood moons preceding Spain's expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and Israel’s Six Day War in 1967. These three instances were the last three Blood Moon tetrads occurrences.
The blood moon will be most visible on Sunday, September 27, and on Monday, September 28 for parts of the world.
Photo courtesy: flickr.com
Publication date: September 24, 2015
