Waking Up to the Moon
I’ve always been fascinated with space and the night sky. I read constellation charts as a kid and have stayed up late for many a meteor shower. (Gazing up at the stars with a spiked hot chocolate is my idea of heaven.)
This week there was a rare event, a tongue-twister in the sky: a Super Blue Blood Moon. There are many great videos and articles online to explain the details, but essentially it breaks down like this:
- Super—A full moon appears much brighter because the Earth and moon are closer in orbit than they typically are.
- Blue—A blue moon* is when two full moons occur in one month.
- Blood—Thanks to a total lunar eclipse, the moon takes on a red appearance when it moves into the Earth’s shadow.
In the United States, this particular Super Blue Blood Moon was most visible on the West Coast. Nearer to the East Coast, where I live, the Super Blue Moon was bright and beautiful during the night, but the early morning’s Super Blue Blood Moon was obscured by clouds and a rising sun.
Even if you didn’t dream of being the next Sally Ride as a child, it’s powerful to take moments and notice the natural world. Especially during such a rare occurrence, it’s a wonderful paradox to hold in your mind both your insignificance in a universe so grand and your uniqueness among billions.
Don’t want to miss the next time the sky puts on a show? Star Date has several tabs where you can find the next occurrence. I’m partial to meteor showers.
*I was delighted to discover, while researching this post, that a Blue Moon’s history is much more complicated than I originally knew.
(This photo of the moon was taken by NASA, and they are fantastic to follow on your favorite social media.)
