​How did a lunar eclipse save Columbus? Mind-blowing lunar eclipse facts you didn't know​

Here’s something you won’t want to miss—a celestial spectacle happening right above us! Late on Thursday, March 13, and into the early hours of March 14, the night sky will put on a breathtaking show: a “blood moon” lunar eclipse.If you're in North or South America, parts of Africa, Europe, or the Pacific, you’ll have a chance to witness this mesmerizing event. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth drifts directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow that dims the moon’s usual glow. Depending on how perfectly they align, the eclipse can be either partial or total—turning the moon a deep, eerie red.To get you ready for this stunning phenomenon, here are seven fascinating facts about lunar eclipses!

Total lunar eclipses cover a much bigger area than total solar eclipses. This century, there will be 85 total lunar eclipses. If you stay in one place your whole life, you'll likely see around 40 to 45 of them—about one every 2.3 years. But a total solar eclipse? That’s much rarer. A single spot on Earth sees one only about once every 375 years.The reason is pretty straightforward. To catch a total solar eclipse, you have to be in just the right place—inside the moon’s small, dark shadow (the umbra), which can stretch thousands of miles but is never wider than 167 miles (269 km). Meanwhile, a total lunar eclipse is visible from more than half of the planet, meaning billions of people can watch the moon turn red.

As per a report by Space.com, about 1.36 billion people will be able to witness the eclipse. Space.com determined the number by taking into account the populations of North and South America, 17 nations in western portions of Europe and Africa, New Zealand, and eastern Siberia. However, this number might fluctuate with changes in weather conditions.

It has been noticed that as the shadow of Earth sweeps across the surface of the moon, the temperatures plummet. The decreased temperatures result in thermal shocks that might cause lunar rocks to crumble and gas to escape from within the moon. This decrease is even more rapid if the sun’s light is shut off when the sun is still high in the lunar sky.

At max, the totality of a lunar eclipse can last for 107 minutes, which happens when the moon crosses through the middle of Earth's shadow, when the moon is at or very near apogee, the farthest point in its orbit from Earth.

In recent years, people have started calling a total lunar eclipse a "blood moon." This name actually comes from a book written by a pastor, who believed that a special series of four total lunar eclipses—starting in April 2014—was a sign of the end of the world. These eclipses all happened on Jewish holidays, with six full moons in between, and no partial eclipses breaking the pattern. This kind of eclipse series is called a "lunar tetrad," but it doesn’t follow a strict schedule and can happen at different times throughout history. However, there is no basis to this, and there have been other periods in history when tetrads coincided with Jewish holidays, yet the world didn't end.

As per a legend, Columbus was on his fourth and final voyage, and things were not looking good for him and his team. They were on the north coast of Jamaica, hungry and marooned. The natives were not cooperating with him, so to get the people to work in his favor, Columbus told them that he would take away the moon if they remained uncooperative. Columbus knew that a lunar eclipse was due soon. When the indigenous people saw the moon disappear, they panicked and asked him to bring it back. Columbus pretended to pray, and soon enough, the moon emerged, and he got his way.

The next total lunar eclipse will happen on September 7, but it will only be visible in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the Americas will miss out. North America’s next chance comes on March 3, 2026, though visibility will vary by location—those in the West will see the full event, while the East will only catch part of it.An “almost” total eclipse will follow on August 27-28, 2026, with 93% of the moon in Earth’s shadow, visible across most of North America. The next coast-to-coast total lunar eclipse in North America won’t happen until December 31, 2047, lasting 57 minutes and ringing in the new year.