4 blood red moons next year

[Larry]

Question/comment:

I keep seeing this picture popping up all over the place concerning the "4 blood red moons next year" stuff that is supposed to signify some major astronomical events. Should I be anticipating the "blood moons" or is it just hype of some kind?

Our response:

You're correct to test everything you read! The truth is, the pictures and videos being passed around on this subject aren't quite true but very misleading!

First of all, there will be four lunar eclipses from April 2014 to September 2015, as seen in the graphic above, which spans two years. Secondly, you can't predict a "blood" moon because the redness of the moon in a total eclipse is entirely depende

Question/comment:

I keep seeing this picture popping up all over the place concerning the "4 blood red moons next year" stuff that is supposed to signify some major astronomical events. Should I be anticipating the "blood moons" or is it just hype of some kind?

Our response:

You're correct to test everything you read! The truth is, the pictures and videos being passed around on this subject aren't quite true but very misleading!

First of all, there will be four lunar eclipses from April 2014 to September 2015, as seen in the graphic above, which spans two years. Secondly, you can't predict a "blood" moon because the redness of the moon in a total eclipse is entirely dependent upon how dirty the Earth's atmosphere is. A moon during an eclipse can be a bright, peachy orange to almost a completely invisible, dark, muddy red - all depending on the atmospheric conditions. (And partly how close the moon is to the Earth during the eclipse.) But for a total lunar eclipse to have any significance, it must be visible from Israel. And only ONE of the four lunar eclipses in this case is visible from Israel! At Passover and Sukkot in 2014, and Passover, 2015, from Israel, all they will see is a full moon - no eclipse. With no chance of a "blood moon" being seen in Israel, there is no significance.

There are also 2 solar eclipses in this period; one on March 20, 2015, and the other on September 13, 2015. These also have no significance! The first, March 20, 2015, though a total solar eclipse, will only be seen as a very thin, partial eclipse from Israel. No one will notice the eclipse in Israel unless they are specifically looking for it! And the second, Sep 13, 2015, is only a partial solar eclipse wherever it is visible and will not be visible at all from Israel!

The fact that these two eclipses fall in the Hebrew calendar as it turns from Adar to Nisan (in the case of the March 2015 eclipse) and from Elul to Tishri (in the case of the September 2105 eclipse) is also not significant as any solar eclipse happens on the last day of the Hebrew month (in this case Adar and Elul respectively), and not the first day of the new month (in this case Nisan or Tishri). The first day of the Hebrew month ALWAYS begins no earlier than the sunset after a lunar conjunction (in this case an eclipse), and not the day the conjunction itself happens.

nt upon how dirty the Earth's atmosphere is. A moon during an eclipse can be a bright, peachy orange to almost a completely invisible, dark, muddy red - all depending on the atmospheric conditions. (And partly how close the moon is to the Earth during the eclipse.) But for a total lunar eclipse to have any significance, it must be visible from Israel. And only ONE of the four lunar eclipses in this case is visible from Israel! At Passover and Sukkot in 2014, and Passover, 2015, from Israel, all they will see is a full moon - no eclipse. With no chance of a "blood moon" being seen in Israel, there is no significance.

There are also 2 solar eclipses in this period; one on March 20, 2015, and the other on September 13, 2015. These also have no significance! The first, March 20, 2015, though a total solar eclipse, will only be seen as a very thin, partial eclipse from Israel. No one will notice the eclipse in Israel unless they are specifically looking for it! And the second, Sep 13, 2015, is only a partial solar eclipse wherever it is visible and will not be visible at all from Israel!

The fact that these two eclipses fall in the Hebrew calendar as it turns from Adar to Nisan (in the case of the March 2015 eclipse) and from Elul to Tishri (in the case of the September 2105 eclipse) is also not significant as any solar eclipse happens on the last day of the Hebrew month (in this case Adar and Elul respectively), and not the first day of the new month (in this case Nisan or Tishri). The first day of the Hebrew month ALWAYS begins no earlier than the sunset after a lunar conjunction (in this case an eclipse), and not the day the conjunction itself happens.