On September 27, 2015, the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics—an astronomical resarch and public outreach centre associated with the University of Toronto Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics—hosted one of their most successful events to date, in celebration of the evening’s rare supermoon lunar eclipse.
The Facebook page for the event, where an astounding 18,000 people confirmed their attendance, described the phenomenon as “special in many ways.” Not only was the moon totally eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow as the planet aligned itself between the sun and the moon, but the moon was also at its closest approach to the Earth during this time, making it appear roughly 14% larger than it does at its furthest point from the planet. The eerie red shade of the moon, characteristic of a lunar eclipse, combined with its slightly larger appearance during this close approach, led to the nickname “super-blood-moon,” which was used to describe the event. September 27 marked the first time this phenomenon had occurred in more than 30 years.
Unfortunately, less-than-optimal viewing conditions got in the way of the majority of the eclipse. Clouds covered the sky from the beginning of the event until roughly midnight—well past the total eclipse that thousands of staff, students, and interested members of the public had gathered in King’s College Circle to see. Despite this unavoidable impediment to the main event, volunteers kept the crowds engaged through a live-stream of the eclipse from locations with better viewing conditions, a “virtual tour” of the moon with an Oculus Rift virtual reality device, and a human-sized inflatable moon for attendees to snap photos next to. The event volunteers also kept guests entertained by chatting with them about the “super-blood-moon”, and any other astronomical phenomena they were interested in.
Die-hard moon enthusiasts were rewarded when the moon finally did reveal itself shortly after midnight, just before the partial eclipse ended. Although it was not the blood-red moon that many had turned out to see, the crowd was still enthusiastic about watching the Earth’s shadow slowly travel across the face of the moon, and many agreed that the full supermoon still visible after the eclipse had ended was certainly a sight to see.
The next “super-blood-moon” will occur in 2033—and hopefully next time, the skies will be a little less cloudy.
