North American Eclipse

The “Great American Eclipse” created a gleaming blood moon Saturday evening

North Americans were in for a treat Saturday evening. Madhulika Guhathakurta, a NASA astrophysicist, said that “this [was] a tremendous viewing opportunity” for most of North America in an interview with The New York Times. Known colloquially as a “blood moon,” total lunar eclipses occur about once every two and a half years when the moon is completely engulfed in Earth’s darkest shadow. Only the longest and reddest wavelengths are projected onto the otherwise dark moon.

For those of us who viewed the eclipse, it was a mesmerizing experience – evoking feelings of awe and the relative insignificance of the human scope. Cultures historically have attempted to find meaning in these lunar events. Many ancient civilizations, such as the Inca, even viewed the blood moon as a powerful omen for the future.

Like many Americans, Santa Clara students had a nearly clear view of the lunar eclipse. Manoj Sharma, a postdoctoral student working in the Robotics Lab, captured some photographs near the library and the SCDI balcony. You can find more of his photographs on his Twitter, @irahulone.

Haiku:

A fogless clear sky

Encompassing a red moon

Brightens my exhale.