A “blood moon” is just a total lunar eclipse, and globally they happen fairly often—roughly every 1 to 2 years somewhere on Earth.

Quick Scoop: How Often Is a Blood Moon Eclipse?

  • A blood moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse , when Earth’s shadow turns the Moon a deep red or copper color.
  • Lunar eclipses of all types (penumbral, partial, total) happen about 2–3 times per year , but not all are total.
  • Only around one third of lunar eclipses are total , so a true blood moon appears on average about once every 1–2 years worldwide.
  • From any single location , you’ll usually see 4–5 total lunar eclipses per decade , depending on where you live and local night-time visibility.

Tetrads: Four Blood Moons in a Row

Sometimes, the sky gets dramatic and we get a tetrad :

  • A tetrad is a sequence of four total lunar eclipses in a row , each about six months apart.
  • These tetrads are uncommon but not ultra-rare , occurring roughly about once a decade or so , depending on the century.

Why Don’t We See One Every Full Moon?

Even though the Moon is full every month, we do not get a blood moon every time because:

  • The Moon’s orbit is tilted , so it usually passes above or below Earth’s shadow.
  • Only when the alignment is just right—Sun, Earth, and Moon in a straight line—do we get a lunar eclipse , and only when the Moon fully enters the dark central shadow (umbra) do we get a blood moon.

Simple Takeaway (for sky‑watching plans)

  • Expect some kind of lunar eclipse every year or so.
  • Expect a true blood moon (total lunar eclipse) roughly every 1–2 years somewhere on Earth , and a few per decade that you can see from your own region if you keep an eye on eclipse calendars.

If you want to catch the next one, astronomy sites and eclipse calendars list upcoming total lunar eclipses years in advance, with maps showing exactly where each blood moon will be visible.

TL;DR: Blood moon eclipses are special but not ultra-rare—global averages are about one every 1–2 years, with a handful visible from any given place each decade.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.