There will be a lunar eclipse later this week. This eclipse will be visible from most of the United States. No ordinary lunar eclipse, this moon, like almost everything in Autumn, has a mystical, even scary quality. It is a Super Blood Moon (insert Count Dracula’s evil laugh here).
Let’s break it down. A lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes directly behind the Earth; the Earth casts a shadow across the moon, making it appear all the more mysterious. A Super Moon is a full or new moon that coincides with perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth during its monthly orbit. This particular Super Moon will be the closest Super Moon of the year. 2015 has a total of six Super Moons. Astrologers warn us that the Super Moon will exacerbate emotions (especially in women), intensify energies, and generally produce extreme mood swings. The word lunatic is based on human reaction to the moon; in essence this effect will be Super Sized this Sunday. From a more astronomical perspective, we can expect larger than normal tides, and a greater number of people making their way outdoors to look skyward after dinner.
A Blood Moon is a little more difficult to explain. Here’s how science education website Earthsky.org describes it: “A Blood Moon is the fourth and final lunar eclipse in an ongoing tetrad – four lunar eclipses in a row…Most of us in astronomy had not heard the term Blood Moon to describe a lunar tetrad until a few years ago, but now the term has gained widespread use in the media. The origin of the term is religious, at least according to Christian pastor John Hagee, who wrote a 2013 book about Blood Moons.” (http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015)
The Blood Moon is also associated with biblical prophesy. Here’s the Wikipedia condensed explanation: “The Blood Moon Prophecy is an hypothesis proposed by some Christian ministers…which states that an ongoing tetrad (a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses—coinciding on Jewish holidays—with six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses) which began with the April 2014 lunar eclipse is a sign of the end times as described in the Bible in Acts 2:20 and Revelation 6:12.”
And then there is the Asteroid Apocalypse 2015. This particular Apocalypse was slated for later today. NASA assures us, however, that the three-football-field-sized-ginormous asteroid known as 2012 TT5 will certainly pass quite close to the Earth by astronomical standards, but will miss us by about 5 million miles. (For some celestial perspective, the moon is only 238,900 miles away from our home planet.)
So, we’re off the Asteroid Apocalypse 2015 hook for now, but the trifecta-tetrad business all adds up to 7. The number 7 in numerology signifies the seeker, the thinker, and the seeker of Truth (capitol T). Number 7 takes nothing at face value. Suffice to say, there is a bad moon on the rise.
Well don’t go around tonight,
Well it’s bound to take your life,
There’s a bad moon on the rise.
(sorry, we could not resist)