The creatures had munched their way through the hull of his two ships, and the crew was forced to abandon their fleet. During his fourth and final trip to the New World, Columbus and his crew were thwarted by an epidemic of shipworms. In 1504, famed explorer Christopher Columbus leveraged the concerns that Jamaican natives had over the moon’s crimson appearance. Some even used the eclipses for their own personal gain, capitalizing on other’s fears. What happened to them, we can’t say for sure. Once the eclipse passed, the real king would return and the double would never be seen again. They would even go so far as to hire a body double-usually a member of society deemed expendable-to fill in for the king during an eclipse. They viewed lunar eclipses as a direct assault on the king. Given their ability to predict celestial events, the people in ancient Mesopotamia looked at things a bit differently. They believed that the jaguar might then turn its attention to Earth, so the people would shout, shake their spears and make their dogs bark and howl, hoping to make enough noise to drive the jaguar away. People would pray, made offerings and sacrifices to ward off the would-be destroyers.įor instance, the Incan people believed that the deep red coloring witnessed during a blood moon was caused by a jaguar attacking and eating the moon. Many of those stories featured gods, demons and even mythical creatures that threatened to devour the sun or the moon. Fred Espenak/NASAĪncient cultures and religions around the globe attempted to explain the existence of both solar and lunar eclipses. EST, with the moon retaining its ruddy face mask until 5:13 p.m. Today’s lunar eclipse will begin at 3:30 p.m. Throughout history, each time our satellite was covered by the Earth’s shadow, portions of humanity failed to gaze upon it with whimsy and wonder, instead perceiving it as a sign of impending doom. Supernatural Signs: The Significance of Blood Moons Through the Ages Today, such celestial events are a cause for celebration with viewing parties, road trips and astronomy talks. Thanks to science, we know that this seemingly strange phenomenon is actually quite common-and benign. During this brief period, the moon will glow an eerie shade of red, so be sure to go outside and look up. Spanning Friday night and Saturday morning, the moon will be totally eclipsed by the Earth for one hour and 43 minutes.
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