Super Moon Sunday

On Sunday, the third super moon of 2015 will also be eclipsed, which is why many people are describing it as a "blood moon." It starts as a penumbral eclipse at 8:11 EDT in the US, becomes a partial eclipse at 9:07, is total by 10:11 and reaches its greatest extent at 10:47. Watching will be iffy on the East Coast and in parts of the Pacific Northwest, but most of the US is forecast to have clear skies, with scattered clouds in some areas. Because this is the third super moon of the year and it is going to be eclipsed, there are numerous astrologers with ideas about what it means, and people–as always–prophesying doom. A huge asteroid is supposed to strike Earth unexpectedly on the 28th, and yet there is no evidence of its existence. This story apparently started with prophet Rev Efraid Rodriguez, who says he wrote to Nasa warning of the strike after receiving a message from God. Asteroid 2012-TT5 passed within 5 million miles of Earth on September 24, but there was no effect on the planet, and no other close approach asteroids are presently being tracked. For more about the doom prophecies, click here. For an excellent animation of the eclipse from TimeandDate, click here.

Fundamentalist Christian pastor John Hagee has said that blood moons are predictive of apocalyptic events, and Morman seer Julie Rowe is saying that the end has come. Hagee has said, ""The coming four blood moons points to a world-shaking event that will happen between April 2014 and October 2015."

Astrologers also see this as an important period of time, but not necessarily one to be feared. Mahala, who has appeared on Dreamland, sees the period in a positive light, claiming that we are presently in a "Wave of Love."

The red color of the moon during these eclipses is what causes the credulous and superstitious to proclaim them as harbingers of the end of the world, but there have been many blood moons across history, and they have so far not been associated with any notable catastrophes. The color isn’t caused by an angry God, but by an optical effect called Rayleigh Scattering.

Of course, Earth is a place where anything can happen and probably will sooner or later, but there is every reason to expect that our beloved Pale Blue Dot will still be sailing on its mysterious journey on September 29th, and for many years to come. Or better, make that eons.

The last supermoon eclipse took place on July 6, 1982. What happened afterward? Not much. Take a look here.