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This Month’s Super Blood Moon Will Actually Look Red

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Olivia Harvey
Olivia Harvey
Olivia Harvey is a freelance writer and award-winning scriptwriter from outside Boston, Massachusetts. She’s a big fan of scented candles, getting dressed up, and the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. You can make sure she’s doing okay via…read more
published May 5, 2021
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On Wednesday, May 26, the full moon will peak in the night sky. This month, not only are we treated to a supermoon, but we’ll also get to witness a blood red moon caused by a total lunar eclipse. April’s Pink Moon may have fooled us (sorry, the moon wasn’t actually pink), but the Super Flower Blood Moon this month is going to be quite the red-hued sight to behold.

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, May’s full moon was dubbed the Full Flower Moon by Native Americans since May is when blossoms finally bloom. However, this year, May’s full moon can also officially be called a “blood moon” thanks to the total lunar eclipse that is set to occur in the early morning of May 26.

The Almanac states that the total lunar eclipse will best be viewed by those of us in the western part of the U.S., as those of us located east of the Mississippi River will only see a partial lunar eclipse in the hours it is painted red by Earth’s shadow, called the “umbra.” The moon will enter into the outer edge of the umbra (dubbed the penumbra) at 4:46 a.m. EDT, finding itself totally eclipsed by 5:45 a.m. EDT. It will stay eclipsed until shifting out of the umbra at 8:53 a.m. EDT and finally out of the penumbra at 9:51 a.m. EDT.

While in the shadow of the Earth, the moon will appear to be a orange-red tint. The last Super Blood Moon occured in January 2019.

This month’s Super Flower Blood Moon will also be the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year, meaning that it enters into its peak fullness while at its closest distance to Earth in 2021. Though it won’t look much bigger than April’s full moon since it’s only about 100 miles closer to us than the Pink Moon was — chump change in space distances — it will still be big, beautiful, and definitely worth taking a peek at.

The full moon will peak at 7:14 a.m. EDT on May 26, which means it will be shifting out of its eclipse during its peak fullness. But because of its supermoon status, the Super Blood Moon will be large and in charge for the entire night, so go outside and take a gander when it arrives.

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