Lunar Eclipse 2015: Sunday’s Blood Moon Is Prompting Panic
The final lunar eclipse of 2015 is going to be more than just your average blood moon. Not only is it going to to turn reddish and generally freak people out, the final lunar eclipse of the 2014-2015 tetrad is also going to be a Supermoon too, reports USA Today.
Mark your calendars now! Sept 27th, Total Supermoon Lunar Eclipse, last in 2014-2015 tetrad. Who will be watching? pic.twitter.com/iht3yfA8R9
— Dan Skoff (@weatherdan) September 18, 2015
What’s a Supermoon? A Supermoon takes place when the moon’s orbit (not a perfect circle) brings it closer than average to Earth. Being closer, it looks substantially bigger. While “blood moon” is a pretty dramatic nickname, the astrological event is definitely not supernatural. Lunar eclipses get their nickname from the coppery light reflected off the surface of the moon when it’s eclipsed by Earth’s shadow. This weekend’s lunar eclipse is a once-in-a-generation event — the last Supermoon lunar eclipse took place 32 years ago.
“That red light shining onto the moon is sunlight that has skimmed and bent through Earth’s atmosphere: that is, from all the sunrises and sunsets that ring the world at any given moment.”
The next Supermoon lunar eclipse isn’t expected for another 18 years. Unfortunately, that may be 18 years too late, according to some sky-watchers. According to an ever-growing number of people, Sunday’s lunar eclipse signals that society as we know it (or maybe even Earth itself) won’t be around for the next Supermoon lunar eclipse. These folks believe that the last 2015 lunar eclipse will usher in the end-of-days. Why? Mostly because it coincides with a Jewish holiday.
AL reports that John Hagee, a Christian Pastor from Texas, explained to them why he believes that this weekend’s lunar eclipse is the Armageddon omen so many have been waiting for.
“Over the last 500 years, blood-red moons have fallen on the first day of Passover three separate times. These occurrences were connected to some of the most significant days in Jewish history: 1492 (the final year of the Spanish Inquisition when Jews were expelled from Spain), 1948 (statehood for Israel and the War of Independence) and 1967 (the Six-Day War). Every heavenly body is controlled by the unseen hand of God, which signals coming events to humanity. There are no solar or lunar accidents. The next series of four blood moons occurs at Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015.”
Rumors have also been circulating for months about an apocalyptic end-of-September asteroid impact, and the fire from the sky is expected to come along with it. The consensus among believers? The end of times, accompanied by Sunday night’s lunar eclipse. The chatter surrounding asteroid doom got so virulent on YouTube and social media that NASA released a statement to dispel fears, reports WWL.
“Numerous recent blogs and web postings are erroneously claiming that an asteroid will impact Earth, sometime between Sept. 15 and 28, 2015. There is no scientific basis — not one shred of evidence — that an asteroid or any other celestial object will impact Earth on those dates.”
While an asteroid impact, most likely heralded by the Supermoon lunar eclipse of 2015, is generating a lot of buzz, there are plenty of other theories floating around out there.
Many members of the Mormon church are seriously preparing for the end times they believe to be signaled by the last lunar eclipse of 2015, too. International Business Times reports that sales of emergency food and supplies in the Salt Lake City area have jumped by as much as 500 percent in some stores, with with 72 hour kits being next to impossible to keep on the shelves. The catalyst for all of that prepping? You guessed it, the September 27-28 lunar eclipse.
In all likelihood, this week’s eclipse will go the way of the thousands of previous end-of-the-world prophecies and predictions that have haunted human civilization over the last few thousand years. However, the fact that every doomsday date of the past has come and gone with humanity still intact hasn’t stopped people from chatting about the end-of-days lunar eclipse all over social media.
Isn't it fascinating how the world seems to be near to end at least once every year? #itstheendoftheworldasweknowit
— K.E.M Lindblom (@the_egghunter) September 23, 2015
Clearly, most people are taking this latest round of doomsday predictions associated with the eclipse with a grain of salt. This being said, they are paying it mind. It goes without saying that this weekend will see much of world looking to the skies to check out the final lunar eclipse of 2015.
[Image Courtesy: David McNew / Getty Images]
