Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! 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
    [2]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.

                          A Blue Banded Blood Moon
                  Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Zixiong Jin

   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 [4]HDR image of last week's lunar eclipse, however -- taken
   from [5]Norman, [6]Oklahoma (USA) -- has been digitally processed to
   exaggerate [7]the colors. The gray color on the upper right of the top
   lunar image is [8]the Moon'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 [9]being eclipsed -- it is in the
   [10]Earth's shadow. It is faintly lit, though, by sunlight that has
   passed deep through [11]Earth's atmosphere. This part of the Moon is
   red -- and called a [12]blood Moon -- for the same reason that Earth's
   sunsets are red: because air scatters away [13]more blue light than
   red. The [14]unusual 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 [15]red
   light is better absorbed by [16]ozone than blue.

   Celestial Surprise: [17]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                      Tomorrow's picture: star factory
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    Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([32]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [33]Specific rights apply.
            [34]NASA Web Privacy, [35]Accessibility, [36]Notices;
                A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC,
                         [40]NASA Science Activation
                           & [41]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2503/LunarEclipseColors_Jin_2700.jpg
   3. https://budapestfotoawards.com/interviews/zixiong-jin/
   4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range
   5. https://youtu.be/l4ep9I3XVog
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220515.html
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210525.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211125.html
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/science/atmosphere-layers2.html
  12. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/blood-moon.html
  13. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/
  14. https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/sf84rb/does_anyone_elses_dog_tilt_their_head_when_they/#lightbox
  15. https://earthsky.org/space/why-does-the-moon-look-red-during-a-total-lunar-eclipse/
  16. https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/SH.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250324.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  24. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  27. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250325
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250326.html
  29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  40. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  41. http://www.mtu.edu/