#Blood moon lunar tides full

Food and water are covered and cleansing rituals performed.

If he catches them we have an eclipse – Rahu swallows the moon, which reappears out of his severed neck.įor many people in India, a lunar eclipse bears ill fortune. Seeking revenge, Rahu’s head chases the sun and moon to devour them. Twin deities the sun and moon promptly decapitate Rahu, but having consumed the elixir, Rahu’s head remains immortal. Some Hindu folktales interpret lunar eclipses as the result of the demon Rahu drinking the elixir of immortality. The proxy king would then conveniently disappear, and the old king be reinstated. Someone considered to be expendable (it was not a popular job), would pose as the monarch, while the real king would go into hiding and wait for the eclipse to pass. Given their ability to predict an eclipse with reasonable accuracy, they would put in place a proxy king for its duration. In ancient Mesopotamia, a lunar eclipse was considered a direct assault on the king. They believed that the jaguar might then turn its attention to Earth, so the people would shout, shake their spears and make their dogs bark and howl, hoping to make enough noise to drive the jaguar away.

The ancient Inca people interpreted the deep red colouring as a jaguar attacking and eating the moon. SHUTTERSTOCK Lunar malevolenceįor many ancient civilisations, the “blood moon” came with evil intent. This is not surprising, since if anything interrupts the regular rhythms of the sun or moon it impacts strongly upon us and our lives. Lunar eclipses have fascinated cultures across the globe, and inspired several striking myths and legends, many of which portray the event as an omen. But as a cultural astronomer, the phrase displays some of the interesting ways in which modern society creates its sky stories. Some sunlight still reaches the moon, refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, however, illuminating it with an ashen to dark red glow, the colour depending on atmospheric conditions.Īs a communicator of astronomy, the term “blood moon” is a major thorn in my side, since it suggests something other than a lunar eclipse and conjures images of a moon shimmering in crimson red colours, which is not at all accurate.

#Blood moon lunar tides full

Visible for most of the world – only North America and Greenland are expected to miss out – it’s set to be the longest one this century, so there is plenty of time to take a look.ĭuring such an eclipse, the full moon moves into the shadow of the Earth cast by the sun, and is momentarily darkened. Millions of people will have the opportunity to see a lunar eclipse – an event popularly known in the media as a “blood moon” – on Friday July 27.