The first and only time I have seen a total lunar eclipse before today was a few years ago from a beach house balcony at Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California. Last night I saw the total eclipse of the moon for the second time just above my front door! I only had to step outside to be under its shadow. The phases of the eclipse last for around five hours. The first time I saw one, I was sick with the flu, so I didn't stay outside long enough to watch it completely.
This time, I spent time watching the various phases as diagrammed in the photo above. One thing I noticed this time was that during the phase when it is leaving the umbra back to penumbra, there was a large area of blue light reflecting back up onto the moon, while the moon was still mostly red. The appearance was as if the moon and a reflection of the earth were in an embrace. The reflected blue light is due to the atmospheric changes, but it was a dramatic effect! The colors were so vivid and seemed to dance, even to the naked eye. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me for being up all night, but my daughter also confirmed that it was definitely a blue reflection which looked like two orbs instead of only one.
I am always reminded of a bride in her wedding gown when I see the full moon, and seeing the moon going red was as if it were going through a bloody battle, emerging as a triumphant warrior-bride, crossing over the dark phase to get to her bridegroom. When I read the story about Adam and Eve, that Eve was taken out of Adam's rib, or side, I am also reminded of the theory that the moon was formed out of the earth and broke off from it when the earth was struck by a huge planetesimal, at least that is the theory accepted by most astronomers for the origin of our moon, although the metaphors are from stories I've heard of various origins.
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