Children elated by sighting of ‘blood moon’
It is officially called a ‘supermoon lunar eclipse’ and commonly known as ‘blood moon’. The supermoon phenomenon occurs when the moon is full at its perigee - the closest part of its orbit around Earth (226,000 miles), meaning it appears larger in the sky.
This supermoon eclipse, the first of its kind since 1982, is the last we'll see until 2033.
It was past bed time for most children but last night presented an exception as some were allowed to stay up to witness the Total Lunar Eclipse, which began sometime after 8pm.
“It was almost full, then it turned crescent, then it went red,” were the words of little Annabelle Maina of the New Life Learning Centre as she shared with this news site her knowledge of the sighting of the eclipse.
Asked if she was scared with she saw the eclipse unfolding the bold little girl responded, “No, I was just wondering why it turned red…My mommy told me that the earth was blocking the sun from the moon getting its light. They call that blood moon,” she said with a proud confidence.
Annabelle’s class teacher said she was very impressed by her as she took the lead in the classroom this morning to share with her peers what she saw, including its significance. “She was well informed and I want to compliment her mother who she said told her everything.”
Several other children, including Taevoi Turnbull and Tianna David, also shared what they say.
Taevoi said: “My mommy told me about it and I was scared when I saw it.” Taevoi innocently said he was scared thinking that the earth would have caught afire.
Tianna said: “I saw a moon, I saw it through a telescope. Grandpa gave me the telescope to see it. I was seeing everything and I was scared.”
About an Eclipse
The Moon does not have its own light, but shines because its surface reflects the Sun's rays. Eclipses of the Moon happen when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned to form an almost or exact straight line. The technical term for this is syzygy, which comes from the Greek word for being paired together.
During a Total Lunar Eclipse, the Sun, Earth and Moon form a straight line. The Earth blocks any direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. The Sun is behind the Earth, so the Sun's light casts the Earth's shadow on the Moon. This shadow covers the entire Moon and causes a Total Lunar Eclipse.
For a lunar eclipse to occur, the Sun, Earth and Moon must be roughly aligned in a straight line. If the Sun, Earth and Moon do not align, the Earth cannot cast a shadow on the Moon's surface and an eclipse cannot happen.
When the Sun, Earth and Moon are not perfectly aligned, only the outer part of the Earth's shadow covers the Moon. Such an eclipse is called a penumbral lunar eclipse. In a Total Lunar Eclipse, the Earth's umbra completely covers the Moon.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Follow Us On
8 Responses to “Children elated by sighting of ‘blood moon’”