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A lunar eclipse – or "moon of blood", as we have learned, captivated people around the world on Friday, not only eclipsing hunters, but also many with a healthy curiosity for l & # 39; astronomy.
"It's partly because the moon is at a point in its orbit farthest from the Earth, which means that it was moving more slowly and thus taking longer to pass." said Rick Fienberg, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society. through the shadow of the Earth, he said. This is also because the moon was moving almost directly into the center of the shadow, tracing a longer path than other eclipses of the century.
"This is not speed, it's just geometry". in this March, which this month makes its closest approach to the Earth, was also visible near the red moon.
"You will see bright red Mars shining underneath," said Dr. Fienberg. – The event was visible in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and parts of South America. Those from North America or Central America will have to wait until January to see one in person
The entire moon was in the shadows for 103 minutes. It's about 15 minutes longer than the average eclipse, says Francisco Diego, astronomer and professor at University College London
The reddish hue of the moon comes from filtering sunlight particles in the atmosphere of the Earth
light is scattered in all directions, "said Dr. Diego." And then the red light is transmitted. "
It's the same That's why the sunsets are red, he adds.
While a modern lunar eclipse is usually a source of excitement, in ancient times a lunar eclipse was the last. Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
For centuries, a moon colored rusty red by the Earth's shadow has been associated with danger, "a rift in the fabric of the Order "he added:
Dr. Krupp, who studied folklore on the cosm and wrote a book on the subject, said that cultures around the world have attributed the eclipse to a carnivorous creature devouring either the sun or the moon
. dog; in Myanmar, an evil spirit in the form of a frog or a toad; The Vikings spoke of two wolves
The eclipse was also an omen
Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan friar who documented the native Aztec life of the 16th century, described the eclipse of the moon as a time when "women with the child feared evil," terrified that their unborn children "could be turned into mice."
Even today, some of this fear persists.
The phrase "blood moon" is relatively new, said Dr. Krupp, a term coined by evangelical ministers. It seems to come from 2008 when Mark Biltz, founder of El Shaddai Ministries in Washington State, said he discovered a model among lunar and solar eclipses that would mark the second coming of Christ.
In 2013, megachurch pastor John Hagee prophesied in the book "Four Moons of the Blood: Something Is about to Change" that a series of four lunar eclipses in an 18-month interval would precede l & # 39; removal.
This was a prediction derived in part from the Bible, Revelation 6:12, which describes "a great earthquake" during which "the sun became black as a sack of hair, and the whole moon became like blood. "
"The apocalypse, by the way, did not happen," Dr. Krupp said.
But the term "blood moon" lived on it. "Now, every total lunar eclipse is called a blood moon," he said.
But even with all the science available to explain the origin of an eclipse, the superstitions about the moon persist.
Krupp even received calls from pregnant women who wondered if the blood moon could be dangerous for an unborn child.
"You can go to any culture and you will see that an eclipse is really bad news, be it the sun or the moon," he said. "There is this thread of a kind of threat of harm."
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