Lunar eclipse photographed over Wallacetown, Ont.February 20, 2008
“It's only during an eclipse
that the Man in the Moon has a place in the sun”
~Anon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you were not looking up on Wednesday night, you would have missed an opportunity to see the last full lunar eclipse until December of 2010. The cold clear night made for perfect viewing of the phenomena. Those who were brave enough to chance the brisk cold were treated to a fine display of celestial pageantry.
A total lunar eclipse occurs as the combined orbits of the Earth, sun and moon cause the full moon to pass into the shadow of the Earth. The Earth blocks the rays of the sun so they cannot directly reach the surface of the moon. Because light rays can change direction, some sunlight does reach the moon. It has to pass through the Earth's atmosphere to get there. As a result, the light spectrum is altered and the moon is cast in a "stain of red"
Mankind has been able to predict the occurrence of eclipses for thousands of years. Despite this, ancient civilizations often considered eclipses to be a magical event that portended great change for the world. The most common mythology usually concerned some type of mythical creature, like a giant toad or jaguar, devouring the moon.
As a people who consider themselves to be "enlightened and modern" we are not that far separated from the citizens of those ancient cities. There are many who swear by the Farmer's Almanac, only planting when the phase of the moon is just right. The daily horoscope that you read for entertainment was determined, in part, by the position of the moon in the sky when you were born. The moon is known to affect tides and has been supposed to affect human behaviour (the full moon is often an explanation for unusual behaviour).
Whatever attributes or powers that might be assigned to our closest orbiting celestial neighbour there is no denying that a full lunar eclipse is a phenomena that is worth experiencing.
A total lunar eclipse occurs as the combined orbits of the Earth, sun and moon cause the full moon to pass into the shadow of the Earth. The Earth blocks the rays of the sun so they cannot directly reach the surface of the moon. Because light rays can change direction, some sunlight does reach the moon. It has to pass through the Earth's atmosphere to get there. As a result, the light spectrum is altered and the moon is cast in a "stain of red"
Mankind has been able to predict the occurrence of eclipses for thousands of years. Despite this, ancient civilizations often considered eclipses to be a magical event that portended great change for the world. The most common mythology usually concerned some type of mythical creature, like a giant toad or jaguar, devouring the moon.
As a people who consider themselves to be "enlightened and modern" we are not that far separated from the citizens of those ancient cities. There are many who swear by the Farmer's Almanac, only planting when the phase of the moon is just right. The daily horoscope that you read for entertainment was determined, in part, by the position of the moon in the sky when you were born. The moon is known to affect tides and has been supposed to affect human behaviour (the full moon is often an explanation for unusual behaviour).
Whatever attributes or powers that might be assigned to our closest orbiting celestial neighbour there is no denying that a full lunar eclipse is a phenomena that is worth experiencing.
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