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The Morning Show - With Jill Riley

Coffee Break: Super Flower Blood Moon of May 2022 -

Coffee Break: Super Flower Blood Moon of May 2022

A total lunar eclipse creates a "super blood moon" on May 15, 2022, in Huntington Beach, California. The eclipse coincided with a super moon which occurs when the moon is at its closest point to earth.
A total lunar eclipse creates a "super blood moon" on May 15, 2022, in Huntington Beach, California. The eclipse coincided with a super moon which occurs when the moon is at its closest point to earth. Michael Heiman/Getty Images

by Jill Riley and Luke Taylor

May 16, 2022

Sunday night, a total lunar eclipse created a deep red blood moon. It was a spectacular show for those able to see it. The eclipse lasted some five hours, with totality — which began around 10:30 p.m. here in Minnesota — lasting about 85 minutes. Ernest Wright, a specialist at NASA, says 85 minutes of totality is longer than most lunar eclipses.

The event has been dubbed the Super Flower Blood Moon of May 2022. It’s a super moon because the moon is closer in its orbit to Earth, and therefore appears larger. The “flower” part of the name comes from the flowers that bloom this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere; and the “blood” part of the name is because the sunlight shining directly onto Earth passes through the atmosphere and is projected onto the moon — which gives the moon a red tone during the eclipse.

The Super Flower Blood Moon of May 2022 was a fantastic celestial event, so let’s celebrate it with music. For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs that mention the moon do you want to hear?


Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs played:
Van Morrison - Moondance
Feist - My Moon My Man
The Beatles - Mr. Moonlight
The Rolling Stones - Moonlight Mile
Neko Case - I Wish I Was The Moon
Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
Thin Lizzy - Dancing' In The Moonlight (It's Caught Me In Its Spotlight) - bonus track!