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<!doctype html> <html> <head> <title>Astronomy Picture of the Day </title>  <meta name="orgcode" content="661"> <meta name="rno" content="amber.n.straughn"> <meta name="content-owner" content="Jerry.T.Bonnell.1"> <meta name="webmaster" content="Stephen.F.Fantasia.1"> <meta name="description" content="A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.">  <meta name=viewport content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="keywords" content="lunar eclipse, blood moon, blue band">  <script id="_fed_an_ua_tag" src="//dap.digitalgov.gov/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?agency=NASA"> </script> </head> <body BGCOLOR="#F4F4FF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#7F0F9F" alink="#FF0000"> <center> <h1> Astronomy Picture of the Day </h1> <a href="archivepix.html">Discover the cosmos!</a> Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2025 March 25 <a href="image/2503/LunarEclipseColors_Jin_2700.jpg"> <IMG SRC="image/2503/LunarEclipseColors_Jin_960.jpg" alt="A developing total lunar eclipse is shown in three frames. At the top part of the uneclipsed Moon is visible with a distinctive blue band separating it from the rest of the reddened Moon. The middle frame shows a mostly reddened Moon with a the blue band just visible on the upper right, while the lowest frame shows an entirely eclipsed moon all in red. Please see the explanation for more detailed information." style="max-width:100%"></a> </center> <center> A Blue Banded Blood Moon Image Credit & Copyright: <a href="https://budapestfotoawards.com/interviews/zixiong-jin/" >Zixiong Jin</a> </center> Explanation: What causes a blue band to cross the Moon during a lunar eclipse? The blue band is real but usually quite hard to see. The featured <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range" >HDR</a> image of last week's lunar eclipse, however -- taken from <a href="https://youtu.be/l4ep9I3XVog">Norman</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma">Oklahoma</a> (USA) -- has been digitally processed to exaggerate <a href="ap220515.html">the colors</a>. The gray color on the upper right of the top lunar image is <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/">the Moon</a>'s natural color, directly illuminated by sunlight. The lower parts of the Moon on all three images are not directly lit by the Sun since it is <a href="ap210525.html">being eclipsed</a> -- it is in the <a href="ap211125.html">Earth's shadow</a>. It is faintly lit, though, by sunlight that has passed deep through <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/science/atmosphere-layers2.html" >Earth's atmosphere</a>. This part of the Moon is red -- and called a <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/blood-moon.html" >blood Moon</a> -- for the same reason that Earth's sunsets are red: because air scatters away <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/">more blue</a> light than red. The <a href= "https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/sf84rb/does_anyone_elses_dog_tilt_their_head_when_they/#lightbox" >unusual</a> purple-blue band visible on the upper right of the top and middle images is different -- its color is augmented by sunlight that has passed high through Earth's atmosphere, where <a href="https://earthsky.org/space/why-does-the-moon-look-red-during-a-total-lunar-eclipse/">red light</a> is better absorbed by <a href="https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/SH.html" >ozone</a> than blue. <center> Celestial Surprise: <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html" >What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?</a> (post 1995) Tomorrow's picture: star factory <hr> <a href="ap250324.html"><</a> | <a href="archivepix.html">Archive</a> | <a href="lib/apsubmit2015.html">Submissions</a> | <a href="lib/aptree.html">Index</a> | <a href="https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search">Search</a> | <a href="calendar/allyears.html">Calendar</a> | <a href="https://apod.com/feed.rss">RSS</a> | <a href="lib/edlinks.html">Education</a> | <a href="lib/about_apod.html">About APOD</a> | <a href= "https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250325">Discuss</a> | <a href="ap250326.html">></a> <hr> Authors & editors: <a href="http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html">Robert Nemiroff</a> (<a href="http://www.phy.mtu.edu/">MTU</a>) & <a href="https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html" >Jerry Bonnell</a> (<a href="http://www.astro.umd.edu/">UMCP</a>) NASA Official: Amber Straughn <a href="lib/about_apod.html#srapply">Specific rights apply</a>. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html">NASA Web Privacy</a>, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/">Accessibility</a>, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/">Notices</a>; A service of: <a href="https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/">ASD</a> at <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> / <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/">GSFC</a>, <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/learners">NASA Science Activation</a> & <a href="http://www.mtu.edu/">Michigan Tech. 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