Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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"Mike Murray/Clark Planetarium: THIS IS ONE OF THOSE GREAT MARVELS OF NATURE...ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS TO SEE SOMETHING SPECTACULAR IN THE SKY."
And plenty of people came out to get a good look at a total eclipse of the moon.
As the full moon rose over the Wasatch Range, it started to pass into the earth's shadow at 9:15.
Clark Planetarium's Mike Murray describes why it's so unusual.
"Mike Murray/Clark Planetarium: YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE PERFECT ALIGNMENT...THE SUN THEN THE EARTH...THEN THE MOON...SO THAT THE SHADOW OF THE EARTH WILL CAST ON TO THE MOON. SO NOT EVERY MONTH WILL THAT HAPPEN, BECAUSE THE ORBIT OF THE MOON RELATIVE TO THE EARTH IS NOT PERFECT...IT HAS TO BE PASSING AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME."
At 9:45, the total eclipse peaked. The moon passed into the oversized shadowed of the earch, and slowly started to re-appear.
Before humans knew what was happening, there were legends of disaster and poor omens because of the reddish coloring.
"Mike Murray/Clark Planetarium: OVER THE COURSE OF JUST A FEW HOURS, YOU'LL SEE THE MOON PASS RIGHT THROUGH THE EARTH'S SHADOW AND COME BACK OUT AGAIN. IT'S ALMOST AS THOUGH IT'S GOING THROUGH ITS ENTIRE CYCLE OF PHASES IN JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS"
If you missed it tonight, don't worry! There will be another one in November.
