VANCOUVER - Metro 91原创 stargazers who either stayed up or awoke at 3 a.m. to catch the second of four lunar eclipses voiced disappointment on social media early Wednesday, after fog and clouds covered the sky.
As the Sun, Earth and Moon perfectly aligned at around 3:15 a.m., the full Hunter鈥檚 Moon turned a reddish hue lasting around an hour. It is the second of four in a rare tetrad of eclipses happening this year and next.
The dates for the four blood moons are April 15, 2014, Oct. 8, 2014, April 4, 2015 and Sept. 28, 2015.
But in Metro 91原创, the sky was blanketed by fog, moment before the eclipse, according to those posting about the extraordinary event on Twitter.
91原创 resident Nati Herron tweeted 鈥淎nd the clouds rolled in. coloured in an eerie #red #hue from the #lunar #eclipse above ... another time #91原创,鈥� while others said they saw a glimpse of the eclipse before the fog and clouds rolled in obscuring the view.
The event is sometimes called a 鈥渂lood moon鈥� because of the colour, which is due to sunlight refracting through Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. That term has religious connotations, however, as it was popularized by an American Christian pastor John Hagee, who wrote the 2013 book Four Blood Moons: Something is about to Change, in which he claims the tetrad of lunar eclipses is a sign of the end of times.
But astronomers do not use the term blood moon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a result of light bending through the atmosphere and the red light passing through. It鈥檚 the same phenomenon of why sunsets are red,鈥� said Randy Atwood, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Tuesday.
He said if it鈥檚 not too cloudy, B.C. will be one of the best places to view the lunar eclipse because the moon will be high in the sky.
It will be about halfway up the sky in the southwest when the eclipse begins at 2:14 a.m. Then, when it reaches the full eclipse at 3:25 a.m., it will be positioned about one-third up from the horizon.
鈥淚t will be nicely positioned to look at ... of course, it鈥檚 if cloudy then it might be a no-show,鈥� he said.
Environment Canada predicts clear skies, with some cloud and possible fog. If the fog does roll in it could make the moon look extra spooky, ahead of Halloween.
And if you can鈥檛 get up in the middle of the night to see the lunar eclipse, don鈥檛 worry 鈥� there鈥檚 another celestial event on the way. A partial eclipse of the Sun will be visible across the country on Oct. 23. The RASC will issue more information about that event later this month.
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Here are a few tips from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada:
鈥� It is perfectly safe to observe a lunar eclipse. The sunlight falling on the Moon is being blocked by the Earth so there is no danger observing the eclipse with just the eye, with binoculars or telescopes.
鈥� Everyone who can see the Moon during the eclipse will see the eclipse happen. Unlike a solar eclipse where the eclipse occurs in a specific geographic area, everyone on the night side of the Earth will be able to see the eclipse.
鈥� The eclipse is only visible if the weather is clear 鈥� clouds and rain will obscure the Moon and therefore the eclipse.
