April 14, an eclipse of the moon would be visible on the West Coast if clouds stayed out to sea. In 2013, Texas televangelist John Hagee published a book that called this eclipse the "Blood Moon." Hagee stated that it was prophesied in Acts 2:19-20 "...the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood," a sign, Hagee felt, of "End Times." (Earlier he claimed Katrina was God's punishment for America's sinful ways.) Before his book, the term "Blood Moon" was an alternate name for October's "Hunter's Moon." However, television commentators picked up Hagee's name and the hype was on.
I went into the backyard about 10 and set the big Leica on a tripod and snapped the first photo. Clouds surrounded the moon but for the moment it was clear with no sign of penumbra or blood.
At 11, I went out again. The show was beginning. At about 11:30, light from the moon was cut enough that the star Spica was visible.
So began the first of a tetrad─four consecutive lunar eclipses at approximately six-month intervals with no partial eclipses in between. In the years 2001-2100, there will be eight tetrads. From the first century CE through the 21st, there have been only 62. The last one occurred in 2003-2004, and the next will be in 2032-2033. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, there were none at all.
At about midnight, the moon started turning reddish, but hardly blood red. At about 12:05, the hype seemed inadequate.
The next show will be in October.
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