Natalie Yemenidjian and Kiyomi Kikuchi
After a rainy day at Pierce College, clouds seemed to part ways for students to enjoy the last lunar eclipse until 2010 just before night classes began Wednesday.
While teachers began preparing for the night’s lecture and students walked to class from crowded parking lots, everyone seemed to be looking up at the phenomenon.
“It’s so romantic,” said Pierce student Ze Bruno.
As the sun and Earth aligned themselves with the moon, students stopped in their paths to catch a glimpse of the moon’s surface as it took on a red hue.
“It’s a privilege to see the eclipse. It’s so special,” said Jose Solorzano, Pierce student and Reseda High school soccer coach.
Although eclipses are frequent, with one occurring last August, humans seem to have an unearthly attraction to the event.
“Human beings are pattern makers, for instance we see faces in the clouds,” said Dr. Dale Fields, Astronomy professor at Pierce.
“We are attracted to it because it’s easily visible and very unusual change to a blood red color,” said Fields.
Myths about the eclipse have surfaced in many cultures, notably in Indian culture; the demon Rahu devours the sun but can be warded off by loud noises. Another culture, according to Fields, was able to harness knowledge of our planet based on what many other cultures believed to be a bad omen.
“The shadow of the Earth on the moon has a curve. If you follow the curve outward it makes an outline of Earth. This is how the Greeks found out the Earth was four times bigger than the moon,” said Fields.
If you were one of the many students who got out of evening classes only to be disappointed by a moon that was shining as bright as ever, not to worry, the moon, sun and Earth will align once more two years from now.
The moon in the early stages of eclipse at 7 ()
Mars illuminated during the event. ()
