What does a red moon in the sky mean? Signs about the moon

Looking into the night sky and observing the Moon, you probably noticed that its color varies. In ancient times, people often determined the weather for the near future by its color. Also associated with the night luminary various signs. People were especially frightened by the red moon, as it was believed that this was a harbinger of big troubles or an approaching war. So why is the Moon red?

Scientific explanation why the moon is red

With the development of astronomy, man was able to explain the unusual color of the moon. It turns out that the culprit is refracted sunlight. Its flows are heterogeneous and consist of multi-colored beams. Each color has its own properties and wavelength. Thus, short rays have a blue spectrum and good weather When they reach the Earth, they dissipate, giving the star a blue tint. Long rays reach the surface of the Moon, passing through earth's atmosphere. They do not scatter as much as short ones and, when they hit the Moon, they tint it red.

Cause of red moon in the morning

Before the light reflected from the Moon reaches our eyes, it passes through the air, which is saturated with vapors of various gases, including oxygen and nitrogen. Together with fine dust, smoke and various contaminants, they contribute to a change in the light spectrum towards a red hue. Therefore, in the morning the color of the Moon is redder. This is especially clearly visible in dry, windy weather or during large fires, when microscopic particles of earth carried away by wind currents do not have time to settle to the surface, hanging in the air.


Why is the red moon so huge?

When above the horizon, the lunar disk can appear incredibly large. Scientists give several explanations for this phenomenon:

  1. Such optical illusion depends on a feature of our organ of vision, which is called irradiation. In other words, all light-colored objects against a dark background will always seem larger to us than they actually are.
  2. Back in the 60s of the last century, scientists James Rock and Lloyd Kaufman voiced a theory according to which our brain, for unknown reasons, believes that the celestial dome has a flattened shape. Therefore, being near the horizon, objects appear to us larger than their actual size.

What other color could the Moon be?


In addition to red, the Moon can be colored in other colors:

  • White-yellow. This is exactly how we see her most often. This pale shade of the luminary is obtained due to reflection from the Moon. sunlight. The angular diameter between the luminaries is such that to our eye the surface of the Moon appears brightened.
  • Ashen. Periodically, depending on the phase of movement, the night star is dimly illuminated by the Sun. Therefore, before the new moon, at the beginning and end of the first quarter, the small piece of the Moon visible to us has an ashen color.

Today, July 27, two rare astronomical events will take place at once: a total eclipse of the Moon, as well as a great opposition of Mars. The lunar eclipse will last from 21:24 to 1:20 Moscow time. Period full phase will be 1 hour 44 minutes from 22:30 to 00:14. Mars will rise at 22:42 Moscow time.

A "Blood Moon" appears when the Earth's satellite goes through an eclipse phase. Although the phenomenon is not of particular astronomical significance, the view in the sky is usually amazing White moon turns red or brick brown.

Lunar eclipse diagram. Shutterstock

Why does the moon turn red?

The moon revolves around the Earth, and the Earth revolves around the Sun. The Moon takes about 27 days to orbit the Earth and goes through regular phases on a 29.5-day cycle. The difference between these two cycles is due to the position of the Sun, Earth and Moon relative to each other, which is constantly changing.

Lunar eclipses can only occur during full moons, when the Sun fully illuminates the surface. Usually full moon does not create eclipses, since it rotates in a slightly different plane than the Earth and the Sun. However, when the planes align, the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun and blocks the sunlight, creating an eclipse.

If the Earth partially obscures the Sun and the darkest part of its shadow falls on the surface of the Moon, the phenomenon is called a partial eclipse. You will see a shadow that “bites off” part of the satellite. Sometimes the Moon passes through the lighter part of the Earth's shadow, causing a penumbral eclipse. Only experienced sky watchers will notice the difference, as the Moon darkens just a tiny bit.

During total eclipse However, something spectacular happens. The Moon is completely in the Earth's shadow, but sunlight scattered in the Earth's atmosphere still reaches the Moon's surface. Since the rays of the red spectrum are the worst scattered, the Moon looks bloody.

How red the Moon becomes depends on pollution, cloud cover or debris in the atmosphere. For example, if an eclipse occurs shortly after volcanic eruption, particles in the atmosphere can make the Moon appear darker than usual.

Interesting facts about the eclipse

Although there are planets and moons all over solar system, only the Earth experiences lunar eclipses, as its shadow is large enough to completely block the satellite.
The Moon is gradually moving away from our planet (about 4 cm per year), and the number of eclipses will change. Every year there is an average of 24 lunar eclipses, and each of them is visible on about half of the Earth.

Ancient cultures often did not understand why the Moon turns red. At least one explorer, Christopher Columbus, used it for his own benefit in 1504. Columbus and his crew are stranded in Jamaica. First local residents were hospitable, but the sailors robbed and killed the natives. It is clear that the Jamaicans had no desire to help them find food, and Columbus realized that famine was approaching. Columbus had an almanac with him, which indicated that the next lunar eclipse would soon occur. He told the Jamaicans that christian god upset because Columbus and his crew have no food, and paints the moon red as a symbol of his anger. When the event actually happened, the frightened Jamaicans “ran with loud screams and cries from all directions to the ships, loaded with provisions, begging the admiral to intercede for them before God.”

What is the great controversy?

Today the so-called “great opposition” of Mars will occur. This means that the Red Planet will be in line with the Sun and Earth and will approach our planet at a distance of only 57.7 million km.

Only astronomers will be able to immediately answer the question of why the Moon is red. The rest have to guess and make assumptions. But what prevents you from asking experts for their opinion on this matter? Absolutely nothing! But scientists will be happy to share their knowledge about the Earth’s satellite. The mysterious night luminary is ready to partially lift the veil of secrets around itself.

Color perception of the Moon

Main feature natural satellite The Earth is synchronized movement around its own axis and around our planet. The laws of mechanics explain this by the friction of tides, which arise as a result of the Earth falling into the shell of the Moon. A natural satellite, at its core, is oriented to the gravitational field so that the semimajor axis of the lunar ellipsoid is directed towards the Earth.

In simple terms:

The Moon ALWAYS faces our Earth, which revolves around the Sun, with the same side. Regardless of who revolves around whom and how. It's all about the above synchronization...

The lunar disk does not emit light on its own. But the lunar surface easily reflects sunlight. During some periods of the cycle lunar phases The rays of the Sun practically do not fall on the side of the night star visible to earthlings. Hence the appearance of a thin moon in the night sky.

What colors can be seen from the Earth on the distant Moon:

White-yellow color. Most often, the surface of the disk appears exactly like this. The pale shade of yellow is formed by reflecting approximately 7% of sunlight. Due to the proximity of the angular diameter of the Moon and the Sun, lightening occurs, in which the human eye perceives a spectrum of rays of a certain color. When studying the density of the light flux that comes from one square second of the source, the Moon does not appear to be a very bright luminary. Venus and many other stars, if you mentally put them in one row, will be much brighter. The color rendition of the night satellite seems very strong only due to its proximity to Earth.

Ash color.

During certain phases of its motion, the satellite of our planet is weakly illuminated by the Sun. For this reason, during periods close to the new moon (at the end of the first quarter and at the very beginning of the first quarter), the narrow sickle takes on an ashen color.

Red color. The entire surface of the queen of the night is optically perceived by the red eye at the moment when the satellite falls into the shadow of the Earth. This occurs due to the illumination of light scattered in the Earth's atmosphere. If a total solar eclipse has begun, then along the lunar halo through binoculars or a telescope you can see a sequence of bright points of dazzling ruby ​​red color. This phenomenon is called "Bailey's rosary." Appears as a result of partial visibility of the solar disk between the lunar mountains or strong depressions in the center of various lunar craters. When the USSR collapsed, people began to look into space less often. Many phenomena that were previously observed through binoculars are now passing by. But the mysteries of the Moon and others space objects

still haven't been solved!

This is interesting:

Bailey's rosary can also be seen during an annular solar eclipse, immediately at the moment of the second or very little before the third touch.

Modern scientists are making full use of the libration phenomenon, which they owe to Galileo Galilei. Its discovery in 1635 now allows us to observe 52% of the lunar surface.

On the lunar surface, the atmosphere is extremely rarefied, so the sky on the Moon is always black. Stars are visible even when the Sun is at highest point horizon.

In the article:

Scientific explanation of the red moon

For a long time, the heavenly bodies were considered by people as something special, they were compared with gods, endowed magical properties. However, now is the 21st century, and the red satellite of the Earth should not scare people, since a logical explanation can be found for such a phenomenon.

The Moon shines (reflects) white from the incoming direct rays of the Sun. As we know, it is a mixture of all shades. If you pass white light through a prism, it is refracted into the rainbow spectrum. The moon changes its usual color due to the passage of the sun's rays through the Earth's atmosphere, like in a prism.

So, when an earthly satellite rises or sets, the light from it, like from the Sun, penetrates through several layers of the atmosphere, and the closer it is to the horizon, the more obstacles have to be overcome. And in this case, part of the reflected broken light is scattered, and the moon acquires a red tint.

The visible color of a celestial body may change due to presence of particles in the atmosphere(this happens after forest fires, volcanic eruptions). IN in this case The blue and green spectrum is scattered, but it is much easier for the red spectrum to overcome such obstacles. It turns out that if the satellite is located high, but still appears scarlet, the problem is in dirty air.

The bright red moon can be seen during an eclipse, when the satellite enters the shadow of the Earth. And again, it’s a matter of refraction; the only color that can get to the moon through the planet’s atmosphere and not be scattered is red. It is reflected from the surface of the satellite and is visible to people.

Mayan blood moon

In the mythology of this tribe, luminaries that were directly associated with deities occupied an important place.

In one of the legends, the red moon was the daughter of the Lord of the Underworld. One day she was driven to Earth, to the world of people, where she gave birth to twins who became heroes. Many different tales are devoted to their exploits. If you believe the legends, the sons of the heavenly body saved the human world more than once.

In the Mayan calendar, the red moon occupied a special place.
This is the ninth glyph of Tzolkin, and the keywords associated with it are “universal water” and “purification.”

ninth glyph of Tzolkin

The Mayans believed that this luminary, in principle, had a very strong influence on humanity, its influence was especially noticeable during the full moon. If we talk about red moon seal, then these days very many people are born strong people, special. Their life has already been “written”, and there is no need to resist the flow of events. Often such people prefer nightlife.

Signs about the red moon

In the old days they believed that the appearance of a luminary of this color warned of severe frosts and rain. And so the proverb was born "The red moon spoils the seeds". The appearance of a scarlet disk in the sky in the spring indicated that there would be strong differences between day and night temperatures.

In parts of Africa it is forbidden to look at the scarlet moon; it is believed that looking at it will bring disaster - cataclysm, disease, famine, war. Moreover, the catastrophe will affect not only this person, but the entire tribe, family, clan.

In the Middle Ages, the appearance of a luminary foreshadowed the invasion of witches. Many people were sure that the moon was an animate object, and its red color was blood and wounds received in the fight against evil spirits.

The Bible also mentions a blood moon. It indicates that a solar eclipse will begin, the satellite will turn scarlet, which means the approaching Apocalypse.

According to superstitions, during the red moon you cannot:

  • sleep in its light;
  • hold open windows(they definitely need to be curtained);
  • go out at night, and pregnant women and children need to stay at home even during the day;
  • go on long trips;
  • go to the doctor;
  • drinking alcohol.

If you believe the popular belief, then when the celestial body turns red or increases in size, the number of accidents begins to increase, people become more irritable, angry and unrestrained. It is especially dangerous at this time to communicate with those who are susceptible mental illness because they become uncontrollable.

If these rules are violated, something bad will definitely happen. If you drink alcoholic beverages on the days of the red moon, you are likely to become an alcoholic.

This time was considered suitable for magical rituals. We know many rituals that are performed. When the disk is scarlet, it doesn’t matter what rituals you undertake - the strength and results obtained will increase several times.

How to escape the blood moon

Our ancestors not only came up with many signs associated with the red color of the luminary, but also ways to neutralize the negative impact on humans. Turn your face to the moon (but don't look at it), spit three times over your left shoulder and bow deeply.

To reduce to a minimum Negative influence, don't look at the moon, don't point your finger at it, don't even talk about it. Otherwise, you will invite illness and failure.


Another option is to appease your satellite. For this purpose, a large round pie was used, which was displayed on the windowsill or in the yard. It was believed that, having received something as a gift, the luminary would not touch the person.

The Blood Moon is a phenomenon worth beholding.

The beginning of the century was full of astronomical events, causing both enthusiasm among experts and ecstasy among ordinary observers. Solar eclipses, supermoon, parade of planets gave a lot of pleasant moments to those who like to look at the sky. Among such events, the blood moon is home - a phenomenon that disturbs minds and gives rise to new prophecies about the end of the world.

"Weather 24": Blood Moon

The title itself natural wonder evokes quite disgusting and even frightening associations. But the blood moon is not a phenomenon of demonic origin, but mainly physical, completely substantiated from a scientific point of view. In fact, this is a total lunar eclipse, coinciding with those moments in the life of the Sun when it sinks below the horizon or rises. The change in the color of the earth's satellite is associated with the peculiarities of the refraction of light in the atmosphere of our planet.

As is clear, a lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, the night luminary and the Sun line up on one stripe, in such a way that our cosmic home hides a satellite in its own shadow. The blood-red Moon becomes visible thanks to the rays of light that reach it shortly before its final entry into the earth's shadow. On the way they are met by the atmosphere of the Blue Planet, which, due to its own characteristics, best transmits the long-wavelength part of the range. The rays reach the surface of the satellite and change its color. The same mechanism is the reason for such spectacular earthly sunrises and sunsets.

Optical illusion.

The rising of the blood moon is characterized by another feature. The refraction of light by particles of the atmosphere shifts the appearance of galactic bodies in time for the observer, in this case the Sun and the Moon. As a result, the daylight reveals itself to the world somewhat earlier than it actually rises, and the earth’s companion is visible for some time after its setting.

Wonderful four.

Bloody Moon phenomenon, which will amuse someone and scare someone more than once in the coming year. In 2014, two similar lunar eclipses have already taken place: on April 15 and October 8. Residents of the coast could see the event Pacific Ocean, Australia and South-West Asia. A couple more blood moons are expected in the not-too-distant future: April 4 and September 28 in 2015. The string of astronomical phenomena received the title of tetrad. For 2 years, the reddish Moon rises every 6 months. A one-time occurrence of a bloody satellite occurs more or less often, but a tetrad marks the horizon even less often.

Periodicity.

Scientists have conducted a study of the rises of the four blood moons over the centuries. It turned out that between 1582 and 1908 there were none at all. At the same time, over the 50 centuries analyzed, the total number of calculated tetrads exceeded 140. These include the reddish Moons of 2003 and 2004. The forecast for the future is impressive: tetrads will become a relatively common event. After ending next year, the astronomical phenomenon will again transform the sky in 2032-2033. and in 20432044 The total number of tetrads expected in the coming decades is 6.

A harsh omen.

Despite the fact that the blood moon is a phenomenon that has a scientifically proven origin, it is attributed to a connection with global disasters. Penetrating into the depths of centuries, the human mind often finds there evidence of its own theories. Red The moon and the meaning attributed to it are no exception.

Of the more than hundred tetrads published before the end of the sixteenth century and in the intervening century, special attention is paid to those that coincided with military conflicts and persecution of Christians and Jews. This was the case in the middle of the 2nd, late 15th centuries and in 1949-1950, also in 1967. Religious leaders of various countries consider the bloody moon to be an unkind sign, warning of future failures and devastation. At the peak of catastrophic forecasts, prophecies are heard about the end of the world and the world's population.

The coincidence of violent historical events with an astronomical phenomenon shakes the blood. It’s hard to be phlegmatic about something similar, but whether or not to believe in an approaching catastrophe remains a personal matter.

We can say with confidence that, regardless of theories and prophecies, there were and will be many people who want to look at the mysterious and rare paradox. However, not all inhabitants of our planet will be able to specifically monitor the eclipse and the reddening of the satellite. The part of land with the best criteria for viewing an astronomical phenomenon should be in the shadow, in other words, under the cover of night, and in a certain position relative to the Sun and Moon. But the event will also be available to the rest of the population.

Bloody Moon phenomenon, whose photos delight and frighten. Naturally, the picture cannot be compared with reality, but it will help you to join an important celestial event, to experience ecstasy, awe or horror, which in fact is always experienced by people in front of a huge place above their heads, but which increases to a significant extent at such moments.

Abstracts

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