Lunar Eclipse

The Moon will turn shade of red in the western hemisphere this late Wednesday and early Thursday, restoring and remembering the eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries ago. The last total lunar eclipse took place on August 28, 2007. The next will take place on December 21, 2010.

In a lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth and Moon are directly aligned and the Moon swings into the cone of shadow cast by the Earth.But the Moon would not be totally invisible, due to the enduring light that is repelled or refracted towards it by our atmosphere. Most of this refracted light turns a coppery, orange or even brownish shade. Lunar eclipses have long been associated with superstitions and signs of ill omen, especially in battle. But I certainly don’t believe on that. Things happen for reasons. The defeat of the Persian king Darius III by Alexander the Great in the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC was foretold by oracles when the Moon turned -red a few days earlier. And an eclipse is credited with saving the life of Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1504. Stuck on the coast of Jamaica, they were running out of foodstuff and faced with gradually more intimidating local inhabitants who were refusing to provide them with any food supplies. However, Columbus looked at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German mathematician, realized that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on February 29, 1504. He called the native chiefs and warned them if they won’t help out and assist them, he would make the Moon vanish from the sky in the following night. Evidently, I came true, quickly the petrified people begged Columbus to return the Moon in which he did (obviously, it came back naturally duh!), in return for as much food as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.

This Wednesday, the Moon will be in total eclipse from 0301 GMT to 0351 GMT. This will be visible east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, as well as in all of Central and South America, West Africa and Western Europe. The zenith of totality is close to French Guiana. It will be in partial eclipse from 0143 GMT to 0301 GMT, visible west of the Rockies and from the eastern Pacific, and from 0351 GMT to 0509 GMT, visible across the rest of Africa and Europe and much of South and West Asia.

Get ready for Lunar Eclipse.