The eclipse.

Everyone knows about eclipses. Currently as i write this, there is a lunar eclipse happening. Yes total lunar eclipses are fairly common, but a few things make this one a true spectacle.

First off, today, december 21st is the winter solstice. A lunar eclipse on this night has not occured for nearly 400 years. The last was in 1638.

Secondly, this eclipse is in the perfect position to be seen all across north america. That too is rare.

Also it is quite romantic. Cody-kun and I live in the middle of the city. On a normal night there isn't a star capable of being seen. Tonight it seems like everywhere in the city it has gone dark. We see lots of stars and the red-orange moon glows.

I hope you all are spending the time with your loved one and are watching the eclipse together. I just thought it would be nice to set this up, and to say that while this world is corrupt, we can spend a few moments to view a gorgeous celestial event that rarely occurs.

Most of the significance of eclipses is historical. The ability to forecast eclipses was one of the great accomplishments of ancient astronomers. The shape of the earth was confirmed by observing the shape of the earth's shadow on the moon during lunar eclipses (it's always round, and the only shape that always casts a round shadow is a sphere). Einstein's theory of relativity was confirmed by measuring the apparent positions of stars during a total solar eclipse.

Today, there are few purely scientific reasons for observing eclipses. Coronagraphs and space-based telescopes can observe the sun's corona without the need for an eclipse, and studying the earth's shadow provides little more than rough estimates of the amount of dust in the atmosphere. However, since they have a unique beauty of their own, people really don't need scientific reasons to know when the next eclipse can be seen.




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