Barring cloud cover, about 75% of the country saw the total lunar eclipse, aka the “Blood Worm Moon.” Texas had good weather conditions for last night’s display, as did the lower Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and a portion of the Central Plains.
In a lunar eclipse, the shadow of Earth blocks most of the light that illuminates the surface of our moon. This eclipse began at 11:26 p.m. (PST) on Thursday, March 13, or at 2:26 a.m. (EST) Friday, March 14, and lasted over an hour (compared to last year’s total solar eclipse of just a few minutes).
The strange title “Blood Worm Moon” comes from the moon’s red appearance when the moon moves through Earth’s umbra (the darkest, innermost part of its shadow). It looks red because the sunlight that still reaches the moon is filtered through Earth’s atmosphere. This filtered light, especially the orange and red wavelengths, covers the moon in an orange/red hue—the “blood moon.” It was thought earthworms appear at about this time because the ground thaws from winter, ergo the title “Blood Worm Moon.”
This was the first total lunar eclipse visible anywhere in the world since November 2022.
Creationists see God’s hand in this fascinating celestial display. He designed the moon in such a way that the earth-moon pair has unique proportions not found anywhere else in our solar system. The moon also has a unique orbit around the earth, allowing us to view both solar and lunar eclipses. For example, the moon is 400 times smaller and 400 times closer than the sun. Coincidence? Hardly. Such a ratio is why we have spectacular total lunar eclipses given to us by the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We hope you enjoyed the "Blood Worm Moon" and remember who put it there for our enjoyment.
* Dr. Sherwin is a news writer at the Institute for Creation Research. He earned an M.A. in invertebrate zoology from the University of Northern Colorado and received an honorary doctorate of science from Pensacola Christian College.
