'Blood Moon' Total Lunar Eclipse in April Treats Stargazers

Get ready, stargazers; you're in for a treat this April. In just one week, a total lunar eclipse will turn the moon an eerie shade of red. Known as the "blood moon," this event won't happen again for quite some time.

On the night of April 14 and overnight into the 15, the Earth and the moon will align. This will cause the Earth's shadow to fall on the moon and darken it; the red hue seen during this eclipse will actually be caused from the refraction of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere--the same reason why sunsets appear red.

"If you were standing on the moon during a total lunar eclipse you would see Earth as a black disk with a brilliant orange ring around it," said Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope Magazine. "And this brilliant ring would be bright enough to dimly light up the lunar landscape."

The total eclipse will at 21:20 GMT, according to RT. You should be able to easily see it with your naked eye, assuming that it's a clear night. Even if the weather isn't accommodating, though, you should be able to see it on your screen, since the Griffith Observatory plans to livestream the event.

This is actually just the first of a series of eclipses that will happen over the next few years, according to CBS San Francisco. The next one will occur on October 8 of this year, followed by one on April 8 of next year and then September 28 of also next year.