Lunar Eclipse Tetrad

From nasa.gov:

In 2014, there are two solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses as follows:

2014 Apr 15: Total Lunar Eclipse

2014 Apr 29: Annular Solar Eclipse

2014 Oct 08: Total Lunar Eclipse

2014 Oct 23: Partial Solar Eclipse

From the Vineyard Gazette:

"A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth and moon align, causing the earth's shadow to fall on the moon and darken it. During the lunar eclipse, the moon appears a blazing red, and this is called a blood moon. The color results from the refraction of sunlight in the earth's atmosphere or, more romantically, all of the sunsets and sunrises of the earth.

"But this one is special. In fact, it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses. This unique happening is referred to as a tetrad. The initial lunar eclipse of the series occurs in the early morning hours of April 15, and the subsequent ones fall on October 8, April 4, 2015, and September 28, 2015.

"Although lunar eclipses average twice a year, not all of them all total eclipses. The other types include penumbral eclipses and partial eclipses, but a tetrad of four total eclipses is notable. During the 20th century, there were only five tetrads, but from 1600 to 1900 there were none."

Once in blue moon, one might say? No, a blue moon is something entirely different.

Enjoy.