The Blood Moon
I like to think about the “Blood Moons”.
The Short Answer
Occasionally, the Earth moves nicely between Sol (the Sun, our nearest star) and Luna (the Moon, Earth’s only natural satellite) and a lunar eclipse occurs.
Sometimes lunar eclipses are full and sometimes they are partial.
The rays of the Sun refract through the Earth’s atmosphere causing an orange, red tint and a curved shadow on the surface of the Moon.
The Moon does not turn to blood and is not covered with blood. In fact, no blood is involved at all unless a mosquito bites you while outside observing the lunar eclipse.
The Long Answer
A lunar month describes the Moon’s journey around the Earth and the most common (there are a few) is the Synodic month which is defined by the Moon’s position in the sky with respect to a straight line between the Earth and Sun. This period is slightly more than 29.5 days (29.5305879815 days).
This is the length of time between our full moons.
When the Sun, Earth, and Moon line up exactly, a full lunar eclipse occurs.
From another point of view, a full lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth (from the perspective of the Moon) completely obscures the Sun.
The mathematical predication of eclipses (full and partial) is sound, repeatable and observable science.
Although there are two lunar eclipses a year about six months apart, not all are full lunar eclipses.
Occasionally, a full lunar eclipse will occur. Less common are two consecutive full lunar eclipses.
Even rarer, three consecutive full lunar eclipse and finally, occurring only eight times this century, four consecutive full lunar eclipses at six month intervals.
Four consecutive full lunar eclipses are referred to as a “tetrad”
In addition, the 21st century appears to be astronomically fortunate because the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries had no instances of tetrads.
Since the beginning of the Common Era (the birth of Christ), tetrads have occurred only 62 times (including to the end our current century).
This is an amazing and rare astronomical event and I highly suggest observation on September 28 of this year.
These tetrads have fallen on Jewish feast days only eight times in the last 21 centuries (including this one).
Does this tetrad and feast day alignment hold any real significance?
Does it mean anything that not one of the full lunar eclipses in this current tetrad will be visible in Israel?
Although my belief in God’s word as truth is unshakable, I do not ascribe that as a license to abuse science.
Full lunar eclipses were occurring a long time before religious feast days were established.
The blood moon commentary is a logical fallacy, the belief that an event after an event was an unavoidable outcome of the first event.
The existence of this tetrad in conjunction with these religious feast days is simply the product of astronomical events and the assignment of religious feast days to occur on full moons.
Because events appear to be related, doesn’t mean they are.
Here’s an example.
For 30 years, a junior high school teacher taught in the same room. It was wide and spacious with an enormous window along the right side of the classroom. Each year the teacher would allow the students to sit anywhere they wanted and the seating assignments were made from their initial choices.
Nearing retirement, the teacher began to examine annual grade results. Much to the teacher’s surprise, students that sat near the window got higher grades. The teacher checked and rechecked, but the results were undeniable. Students did better in class when they sat next to the window.
So, what are we to think of the teacher’s data and conclusions?
The teacher hypothesized that sitting next to the window enhances learning ability.
Does the correlation of student seating and proximity to the window precipitate enhanced learning?
Here are my questions for the teacher.
1. Why does your answer have to be the correct answer?
2. Why can’t it be something else?
3. How many students excelled, but didn’t sit next to the window?
4. What specifically about the window caused the “enhanced learning ability”?
a. The glass?
b. The view?
c. Seeing others?
d. Exposure to the outdoors?
5. Is it possible that those who chose to sit by the window came to class more ready in their mindset to learn?
My point here is not that sitting by the window did NOT help students learn better, but that there’s more involved here than just the window.
The occurrence of a tetrad on religious holidays might be rare and noteworthy, but there’s more involved here than a series of astronomical events bringing about some devastating world event.