The moon is mesmerizing. When I look from below, I can see the beauty of its shining light. I am quite excited tonight because the full moon is this year's closest full moon of the year. Since it is closest to Earth tonight, it means it's the biggest and brightest, that's why it is called a supermoon... and I can't be more excited to watch it in its splendor!
But wait, there's more! Tonight, at around 7:00 PM (Philippine Time), a total lunar eclipse will happen as the Earth comes in between the Sun and the Moon thus blocking the Sun's rays from directly reaching the Moon. This will make the Moon fully in the Earth's shadow. What's more exciting is that you will see the Moon turning into a shade of red for a period of 14 minutes during this total lunar eclipse.
Given favorable weather conditions, you will be able to witness it if you are from East Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and America. It will also be visible from some parts of the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Indian oceans.
Super Blood Moon
The source of the Moon's red shade that will be seen for a couple of minutes comes from the light filtered through all the sunrises and sunsets on Earth. Amazing isn't it?
As sunlight travels to Earth, it bends and scatters through its atmosphere. In a lunar eclipse, this filtered sunlight travels through the Earth's atmosphere and moves towards the Moon's surface.
Tonight, it is known to be the Super Blood Moon, apart from its reddish-orange in color, it is really big as well due to its proximity to the Earth. NASA mentioned that if there is more dust or clouds in the Earth's atmosphere, then the redder will the Moon appear. It was also stated by NASA however that not all all Supermoons are considered as Bloon moons or having a red shade in its appearance because an eclipse is not taking place simultaneously in all cases.
This occurence hadn't happened in almost six years, and the next total lunar eclipse won't happen until May 2022. That's why tonight is uniquely different and super special!
Moon is not a Light Source, It's only a Reflector of Light
I am amazed of the Moon's beauty especially when I see it shining brightly at night. I remember when I was a kid, I had this book about the Moon, how does it look like, the Lunar rover, so on and so forth. I remember that it states that the Moon is rocky, and has lots of craters. These craters are formed from asteroid impacts millions of years ago. The craters are shallow and some are deep.
It was in college when I came over a book entitled "It's not about me. Teen Edition" by Max Lucado. This book tells us to live a God-centered life because we are too busy trying to live a selfish life, having our own terms and conditions, desiring to make our decisions using our own free will, not consulting anything or anyone whether it will lead to a good or bad consequence.
But what struck me the most in the book was when Max Lucado stated that we are like the Moon. As I've mentioned, most of us are mesmerized by the Moon's beauty and its ability to give light during the darkness of night, but in reality, the Moon, when we look closely, its composition by weight is roughly 43% oxygen, 20% silicon, 19% magnesium, 10% iron, 3 % aluminum, <1% chrmomium, titatinium, and manganese. The truth is that there's no life being held on the Moon's surface. There's no light being illuminated by it on its own, there's no light that is coming from it at all.
So, where does it light come from?
It comes from the ultimate source of light on Earth and in the whole solar system - the Sun. The Sun is continuously shining and giving heat and light to Earth, and also to the Moon. The Moon only reflects the light that is coming from the Sun, so, its but important to recognize that its light and its beauty comes from a source that illuminates and shines brightly as ever.
I came to realize through this book that we are indeed just like the Moon - we are lifeless if not for the very light that is given off by our ultimate light source which is the Sun. In a Christian point of view, the Sun is analogous to God.
Us, being the Moon, can only shine bright and beautifully because of our ultimate source of brightness and beauty - God. We are mere reflectors of God's light and glory, for without Him, we are nothing.
Super Blood Moon and Me
The Super Blood Moon tonight is a reminder that no matter how we beautiful we think we are, without the ultimate source of this beauty, we are nothing. Doing good things should come out naturally, but it should not be credited to us, from our own means. We should remember that whatever we do should stem out from the guidance and love and kindness and beauty from the ultimate source of it all - God.
Thank you for reading!
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