The first month of the year started and ended on an EPIC note, like super blue blood epic. On January 1st, a full moon graced us as we were about to embark on an empowering journey of failed resolutions and '"I'll start tomorrow"s into the new year. Exactly 30 days later, on January 31st, 2018, there was ANOTHER full moon in the skies. This hasn't happened in 152 years! If you missed out on this one, don't worry: the next one will be in 2037!
So here’s the breakdown of why this was so exciting, according to NASA:
The "super" refers to the distance of the moon from the earth. When the moon is in its orbital rotation around the Earth, there are two points where the moon is either in apogee (furthest from earth) or in perigee (closest to earth). When the moon is in perigee and it is a full moon that is referred to as a "Super Moon."
The "blood" refers to the color of the moon observed by the viewer. While the Earth blocks the light of the sun from hitting the moon, the shape of the planet slightly bends the light coming from the sun. This creates a reddish hue to reflect onto the moon from the earth. When the Moon is completely immersed in the shadow of the Earth this is referred to as a total lunar eclipse or a "Blood Moon."
The "blue" refers to the frequency of the full moon this calendar year. Throughout history, the term “once in a blue moon” meant "every so often," because a blue moon only occurs when there are two full moons observed within the same calendar month. That means that this eclipse will happen to the 13th full moon, which means it will be a “Blue Moon."
Facts For Thought:
What even is the moon? Unless you took an astronomy class or done some extensive researching/observing, the average person knows very few facts about the mysteries of the moon!
Though it is a rare and incredible sight, most people didn’t even know about the significance of last week's full moon. I found out the morning of when I randomly (legit randomly) woke up at 4:38 am and decided to go for a walk. l saw the super blood moon as I walked around campus in awe at the sight of this incredible object in the sky. I was immediately intrigued with the red tint and the fact that it was faded but not entirely hidden. I didn't understand why the moon decided to be red that morning instead of any other morning.
Usually when the moon is in a New Moon phase it is impossible to see the surface of the moon, making it seem as if the moon is completely gone. With this lunar eclipse it seemed as if the light reflecting off the moon came from an entirely different source.
After doing some research I found out some very interesting facts that would make us all go HUH!! For one, the moon reflects cool blue light and not warm yellow light like the sun. Light and shadows are created by a light source reflecting its light off an objects surface; creating a shadow where the object is reflecting the light.
The light from the source and the object would be the same since it is the same source; however, this is not what we observe with the moon. You could easily see the surface of the moon; however, as time passed and the sun started to rise, I watched as the moon slowly faded away completely…so I thought.
Still curious about this natural phenomenon, I went searching for the moon by going to the top of the University Center 5th floor. I immediately had a better view and was able to watch as the moon started illuminating into a crescent. Though it looked like a crescent moon from camera I was still able to see the entire rest of the moon making me really curious about how the moon actually worked.
