Moonlight’s kind of romantic, isn’t it?

A whimsical soft light that adorns the world, turning everything a shade of blue/grey…

(Insert screeching brake sound here.)

But wait.
Blood in moonlight doesn’t sound so romantic, yet that’s what I needed to research in one of my writing sessions.

Actually, what colour is blood in moonlight?
My brain jumped to the usual rational conclusions and acted all sure of itself, but I wasn’t convinced.

Helloooo Google!

What did I just read?
Must be some dud site.
No, here it is again.
Blood, in moonlight… is red.

Seems I’m not only a sceptic of my brain’s opinion, but Google’s as well. I needed to see it with my own eyes. I circled the next full moon on my calendar…. and waited.

Don’t worry. I didn’t go all slasher on myself – or anybody else. I took something the colour of blood outside into the moonlight. And guess what?

It’s red!

Turns out it has more to do with hue and saturation levels than the eye’s cone cells, and there’s a large pile of contradictory topic posts online to wade through. (So here’s a peer-reviewed article for those so inclined). But the easiest way to discover this truth is to step outside in the moonlight and witness it for yourself.

After my brief experiment, what settled inside me was how interesting, and more than a little symbolic, it was that blood can be seen for what it is, no matter the lighting.

According to my calendar, the next full moon is on the 25th.

Circle it, grab something red, and be amazed at our earth and the elements we live among.