RISING FOR THE SETTING MOON
Viewing at natural history museum draws 1,000
Not since October’s Balloon Fiesta has Albuquerque seen such a large early morning gathering. More than 1,000 people awoke before dawn and braved below-freezing temperatures to watch Wednesday morning’s super blue blood moon at the observatory of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
The crowd, clad in everything from pajamas to school uniforms to business suits, watched as the Earth’s shadow began to pass over the face of the full moon at about 5 a.m.
“We couldn’t have had a clearer morning or better weather,” said state Department of Cultural Affairs spokeswoman Mary Ann Hatchitt.
The last time all three occurrences — a lunar eclipse, blue moon and supermoon — coincided was in 1866.
Eventually, the moon took on a rusty, reddish color, caused by the sun’s light being refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere.
Though it was also a supermoon, meaning the moon is at or near its closest point to Earth, it was hard to tell much of a difference in size.
“Even though, in my opinion, a lot of the supermoon stuff is hype, if it gets people to get outside and look up, I think it’s well worthwhile,” said Jim Roucis, a member of the Albuquerque Astronomical Society. “Go ahead and hype it.”
Roucis, along with other AAS members, brought along a telescope to let viewers get a closer look.
Roucis said this eclipse appeared “a little on the grayer side” compared with others he’s seen; he said factors such as the amount of particulates in the atmosphere can affect a lunar eclipse’s color.
The moon eventually faded from view as the sun began to rise at around 7 a.m., eventually setting before the eclipse was completely over.
Mary Stuever of Tierra Amarilla also commented on the number of people in attendance.
“To see this many people on a chilly morning who are interested in what’s going on with the Earth, that’s really encouraging,” Stuever said.
Stuever said she became more aware of astronomical events after traveling to Nebraska in August for the total solar eclipse.
Jim Greenhouse, director of space science at the museum, said he heard a lot of questions on the difference between solar and lunar eclipses, which he attributed to the recent solar eclipse.
The last time the museum hosted an event for a lunar eclipse, Greenhouse said just 30 or 40 people showed up.
The next time all three celestial events line up will be in 2037.