Awesome Nightshow

Earlier this morning, my sis, niece, and I dragged ourselves out of bed in order to witness the total lunar eclipse. I was stoked because it's been a while since I've drunk in any celestial viewings/sightings...just like how they say we should all take time to "stop and smell the roses..."...the same is true about star gazing. We should all stop and avert our eyes to the night sky and just be amazed by its beauty.

Back in the day, I would've considered myself an astronomy lover...so much that I wanted to major in it when I got into State. I aspired to be the first Filipina astronaut! I eagerly registered for Astronomy 101 and was disappointed to find that I had to learn all this math. Math? Not my forte. Hell, I just wanted to study the stars, be able to identify constellations, and perhaps, discover something that could be named after me. Talk about crushed spirits! That class opened my eyes to the fact that Astronomy was not for me and should be persued as only a hobby.

I used to read up on space when I was younger, but after this morning's event, I had to google all of this stuff to refresh my memory and understand it better. Sites like MrEclipse.com had a lot of good info.

An eclipse of the Moon (or lunar eclipse) can only occur at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped components, one nested inside the other. The outer or penumbral shadow is a zone where the Earth blocks part but not all of the Sun's rays from reaching the Moon. In contrast, the inner or umbral shadow is a region where the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

Astronomers recognize three basic types of lunar eclipses:

1. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

The Moon passes through Earth's penumbral shadow. These events are of only academic interest since they are subtle and quite difficult to observe.

2. Partial Lunar Eclipse

A portion of the Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow. These events are easy to see, even with the unaided eye.

3. Total Lunar Eclipse

The entire Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow. These events are quite striking for the vibrant range of colors the Moon can take on during the total phase (i.e. - totality).

Now you might be wondering "If the Moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days and lunar eclipses only occur at Full Moon, then why don't we have an eclipse once a month during Full Moon?". I'm glad you asked! You see, the Moon's orbit around Earth is actually tipped about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. This means that the Moon spends most of the time either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit. And the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun is important because Earth's shadows lie exactly in the same plane. During Full Moon, our natural satellite usually passes above or below Earth's shadows and misses them entirely. No eclipse takes place. But two to four times each year, the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's penumbral or umbral shadows and one of the above three types of eclipses occurs.

When an eclipse of the Moon takes place, everyone on the night side of Earth can see it. About 35% of all eclipses are of the penumbral type which are very difficult to detect, even with a telescope. Another 30% are partial eclipses which are easy to see with the unaided eye. The final 35% or so are total eclipses, and these are quite extrordinary events to behold.

Here are some images from this morning...unfortunately, the pics that I attempted to take did not come out at all. Now if only I had a phat camera like Triple D's...


Explains what happens within the given timeframe. It was pretty cool because we noticed that the times were pretty exact.



A beautiful shot of the full moon.


Taken by Chronicle photographer Frank Larson- it's a view of the eclipse next to the tip of the Transamerica Pyramid building in San Francisco. I guess it WAS clear in the city to view it! Notice the reddish hues on the moon...


As the earth's shadow covered the moon, us girls ventured outside for a better view. If it wasn't for the surrounding lights of the neighborhood houses and streetlights, I'm positive the view would've been more spectacular. With the naked eye, you can really see how the moon appeared to turn red.

In the midst of all of the ooohing and aaaahing, Sabrina made a comment about how awesome God was for His wonderful creations. At that, I literally had to stop in my tracks. I was so busy trying to identify nearby constellations, straining my eyes for any falling stars, and focusing on the eclipse itself that I failed to acknowledge how the entire thing was possible in the first place! I then heard a verse inside my head, although I wouldn't be able to tell you which one, that basically talks about the faith of a child, or seeing through the eyes of a child.

As I looked up at the sky again, I saw it with different eyes...and it only made the event even more spectacular than the minute before. So thank you, Sabrina, for that reminder that God is so good!

*Thanks family for waking up in the wee hours to witness the lunar eclipse...we can do it again next year on FEBRUARY 21, 2008!