Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Why did the Moon turn red?

It’s not the color of the Sun. What you are seeing is the color of every sunrise and sunset on Earth’s skies. As the Earth casts its shadows and the Sun’s light hits all around Earth’s limb, the atmosphere glows red. That’s red glow—which you can’t see in a normal day—illuminates the surface of the Moon, engulfed into Earth’s shadow.

According to NASA, “the exact color depends on what’s floating around in Earth’s atmosphere. Following a volcanic eruption, for instance, dust and ash can turn global sunsets vivid red. The moon would glow vivid red, too. Lots of clouds, on the other hand, extinguish sunsets, leading to darker, dimmer eclipses.”

So no, the Moon didn’t became as blood because the Apocalypse, there weren’t any human sacrifices, and dogs and cats are not living together. Yet.

Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.