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---
description: For those who were able to see it in person, Wednesday morning&#x27;s Blood Moon lunar eclipse didn&#x27;t disappoint as skywatchers spotted Earth&#x27;s always-orbiting pal turn...
title: Watch the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in 8 Seconds Flat
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60997bee6a2a2c26/69875f30cd68485502096e94/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-20141.gif?branch=production&amp;width=1920&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60997bee6a2a2c26/69875f30cd68485502096e94/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-20141.gif?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)

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# Watch the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in One GIF


by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/) and [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/)

Oct 8, 2014 2:26 PM CUT

![Blood moon lunar eclipse 2014](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60997bee6a2a2c26/69875f30cd68485502096e94/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-20141.gif?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Ritchie B. Tongo—EPA (7); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME

by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/) and [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/)

Oct 8, 2014 2:26 PM CUT

For those who were able to see it in person, Wednesday morning’s Blood Moon lunar eclipse didn’t disappoint as skywatchers spotted Earth’s always-orbiting pal turn a deep shade of red.

Why that color? During a Blood Moon lunar eclipse, [Earth gets between the Sun and the moon](http://time.com/62125/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-cosmic-jaguar/ "undefined"), casting a shadow on the lunar surface. The red color comes as Earth’s atmosphere scatters the sunlight, stripping away blue light and leaving behind the red to reach the moon’s surface.

If you missed Wednesday’s Blood Moon — the second of the year and fourth lunar eclipse — check it out here in a single GIF. Then check out [past Blood Moons](http://time.com/63235/watch-blood-moon-lunar-eclipse/ "undefined"), too.

### See the Best Photos of the Blood Moon

![The moon during a total lunar eclipse from Kathmandu on Oct. 8, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2ee739afb62cc71/69875f44524fc0545fde9acf/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-2014.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The moon during a total lunar eclipse from Kathmandu on Oct. 8, 2014. Narendra Shrestha—EPA

![Blood Moon China](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2bdb24749ac96b1/69875f37f887dc645de87550/blood-moon-3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Through multiple exposures, the blood moon is shown in Hefei, China on Oct. 8, 2014. Guo Chen—Xinhua/Sipa

![The moon during a total lunar eclipse behind a ferris wheel in Tokyo, on Oct. 8, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte04cf246b3ca617d/69875f2ee20a87083ea824bd/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-2014-06.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The moon during a total lunar eclipse behind a ferris wheel in Tokyo, on Oct. 8, 2014. Yoshikazu Tsuno—AFP/Getty Images

![The moon during a total lunar eclipse behind the CN Tower and the skyline of Toronto on Oct. 8, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97a94553ba43dc22/69875f2d524fc01d8ede9aab/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-2014-03.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The moon during a total lunar eclipse behind the CN Tower and the skyline of Toronto on Oct. 8, 2014. Mark Blinch—Reuters

![The moon during a total lunar eclipse above the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas on Oct. 8, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22501d51575395b5/69875f2d55a8593e02a83121/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-2014-04.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The moon during a total lunar eclipse above the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas on Oct. 8, 2014. David Becker—Zuma Press

![Blood Moon China](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte99398ea881eb447/69875f3735ba6fda3dc04496/blood-moon-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The blood moon resulting from the total lunar eclipse is seen in the sky in Ningbo city, China on Oct. 8, 2014. Imaginechina/Corbis


![Blood Moon China](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d89a9ce9b902287/69875f36e53aba80494d4db0/blood-moon-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The total lunar eclipse is seen in the sky in Qingdao city, China on Oct. 8, 2014. Imaginechina/Corbis

![The moon during a total lunar eclipse over Sydney, on Oct. 8, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad2b683ff03302f/69875f2e06f2c128fd3312b3/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-2014-05.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

The moon during a total lunar eclipse over Sydney, on Oct. 8, 2014. Rick Rycroft—AP

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