APOCALYPSE NOW: Why a rare astrological event LAST NIGHT could herald the 'End of Days'
The King James Bible predicts: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes," [Joel 2:31].
And, according to NASA, a highly unusual 'Tetrad' - four successive total 'blood-red' lunar eclipses each followed by six full moons - will, indeed, start next Tuesday and finish on September 28 2015.
The incredible alignment has only happened a handful of times in the last two thousand years but, remarkably, on each of the last three occasions it has coincided with a globally significant religious event.
Pastor and author John Hagee, from San Antonio, Texas, has written a book on the phenomenon. He believes tonight marks the dawn of a 'hugely significant event' for the world.
He says: "This is not something that some religious think tank has put together.
"NASA has confirmed that the Tetrad has only happened three times in more than 500 years - and that it's going to happen now."
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/469228/Four-blood-moons-Does-alignment-of-Mars-Earth-and-Sun-mean-the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh
Does anyone think this could have any kind of effect on our world? I don't discount the influence of the planets and the stars. A Tetrad...hoo hoo!!!
(http://www.prosportstickers.com/product_images/c/homer_simpson_ooh_sticker__75234.jpg)
Homer...errrr Cosmo
Cosmo.. obviously nothing we haven't lived thur before..well not us exactly.. other us's..lol
my most favorite active visuals for the sky are here
http://www.shadowandsubstance.com/
lots of pics at this link that i was just to lazy to copy.. ;)
http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015
What is a Blood Moon?
Lunar eclipse illustration courtesy of Luc Viatour
A lunar tetrad – four total lunar eclipses in a row – begins on the night of April 14-15. People are calling it a Blood Moon eclipse. Here's why.
On the night of April 14-14, the red planet Mars at its closest to Earth will appear near the totally eclipsed moon. Red Mars and red moon! It will be something to see. The blue-white star Spica will be even closer to the moon. Chart via Classical Astronomy.
The first Blood Moon eclipse in a series of four is coming up on the night of April 14-15, 2014. This total eclipse of the moon will be visible from the Americas. We in astronomy had not heard the term Blood Moon used in quite this way before this year, but now the term is becoming widespread in the media. The origin of the term is religious, at least according to Christian pastor John Hagee, who wrote a 2013 book about Blood Moons.
Meanwhile, both astronomers and some proponents of Christian prophesy are talking about the upcoming lunar tetrad – the series of four total lunar eclipses – beginning on the night of April 14-15.
We at EarthSky don't have any special knowledge about the Blood Moons of Biblical prophesy. But, since they're moons, and since people are asking us, we wanted to provide some info.
go to the orignal article to get these links
Follow the links below to learn more about Blood Moons.
What is a lunar tetrad?
Blood Moons in Biblical prophecy
Dates of Biblical prophecy Blood Moons in 2014 and 2015
How common is a tetrad of total lunar eclipses?
Why is the term Blood Moon being used to mean a full moon of a lunar tetrad?
Other times in astronomy you hear "moon" and "blood" in same sentence.
Dates of Harvest and Hunter's Moons in 2014 and 2015
Total lunar eclipse for the Americas on night of April 14-15
This is what a total eclipse looks like. This is the total eclipse of October 27, 2004 via Fred Espenak of NASA. Visit Fred's page here. We astronomy writers often describe a totally eclipsed moon as appearing 'blood red.' Here's why the moon turns red during a total eclipse.
What is a lunar tetrad? Both astronomers and followers of certain Christian pastors are talking about the lunar tetrad of 2014-2015. What is a tetrad? It's four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons)
Blood Moons in Biblical prophecy. We're not experts on prophecy of any kind. But we'll tell you what we know about the new definition for Blood Moon that has raised so many questions recently.
From what we've been able to gather, two Christian pastors, Mark Blitz and John Hagee, use the term Blood Moon to apply to the full moons of the upcoming tetrad – four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons) – in 2014 and 2015. John Hagee appears to have popularized the term in his 2013 book Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change.
Mark Blitz and John Hagee speak of a lunar tetrad as representing a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. After all, the moon is supposed to turn blood red before the end times, isn't it? As described in Joel 2:31 (Common English Bible):
The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.
That description, by the way, describes both a total solar eclipse and total lunar eclipse. Sun turned to darkness = moon directly between the Earth and sun in a total solar eclipse. Moon turned to blood = Earth directly between the sun and moon, Earth's shadow falling on the moon in a total lunar eclipse.
This book, published in 2013, is apparently what launched all the questions to our astronomy website about Blood Moons. We confess. We haven't read it.
Dates of Biblical prophecy Blood Moons in 2014 and 2015. These are the dates for the upcoming tetrad – four successive total lunar eclipses – in these years.
2014:
Total lunar eclipse: April 14-15
Total lunar eclipse: October 8
2015:
Total lunar eclipse: April 4
Total lunar eclipse: September 28
There are a total of 8 tetrads in the 21st century (2001 to 2100). But proponents of this Biblical prophecy regard the upcoming tetrad as especially significant because it coincides with two important Jewish holidays: Passover and Tabernacles.
The April 2014 and April 2015 total lunar eclipses align with the feast of Passover. The October 2014 and September 2015 total lunar eclipses align with the feast of Tabernacles.
The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. In any year, it's inevitable that a full moon should fall on or near the feasts of Passover (15 Nissan) and Tabernacles (15 Tishri). Nissan and Tishri are the first and seventh months of the Jewish calendar, respectively.
It is somewhat ironic that three of these four lunar eclipses are not visible – even in part – from Israel. The only eclipse that can be seen at all from Israel is the tail end of the September 28, 2015 eclipse, which may be observable for a short while before sunrise.
How common is a tetrad of total lunar eclipses? Depending upon the century in which you live, a lunar tetrad (four consecutive total lunar eclipses, spaced at six lunar months apart from one another) may happen fairly frequently – or not at all.
For instance, in our 21st century (2001-2100), there are a total 8 tetrads, but in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, there were none at all. If we include all the centuries from the 1st century (AD 1-100) through the 21st century (2001-2100), inclusive, there are a total of 62 tetrads. The last one occurred in 2003-2004, and the next one after the 2014-2015 tetrad will happen in 2032-2033.
However, if we want to know which tetrads specifically fell on the Jewish feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, there appear to be a total of 8 in these 21 centuries:
1. 162-163 C.E. (Common Era)
2. 795-796 C.E.
3. 842-843 C.E.
4. 860-861 C.E.
5. 1493-1494 C.E.
6. 1949-1950 C.E.
7. 1967-1968 C.E.
8. 2014-2015 C.E.
Why is the term Blood Moon being used to mean a full moon of a lunar tetrad? We can't really tell you why more and more people are using the term Blood Moon to describe the four full moons of a lunar tetrad. We don't know why, exactly.
Here's the definition of a lunar tetrad, again: four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons). There's no obvious reason why Blood Moon should be associated with this term.
To the best of our knowledge, however, the use of the term Blood Moon to describe a lunar tetrad is of recent origin. It might have originated with John Hagee's 2013 book.
We're still not sure whether Blood Moon pertains to the full moon of any tetrad, or specifically to a tetrad that coincides with the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles.
Either way, I suspect the nouveau definition of Blood Moon will gain traction as we approach the tetrad, the four total lunar eclipses of 2014 and 2015.
View larger. | Hunter's Moon collage from EarthSky Facebook friend Kausor Khan in Hyberabad, India. Notice that she choose reddish moons to depict the Hunter's Moon. That's because many people see the Hunter's Moon low in the sky, and moons seen low in the sky appear reddish. In 2013, the Hunter's Moon – sometimes called the Blood Moon – came in mid-October.
Why is a Hunter's Moon linked in people's minds with a red moon? First of all, in autumn, the angle of the ecliptic – or sun and moon's path – makes a narrow angle with the horizon. Image via classicalastronomy.com.
Secondly, the narrow angle of the ecliptic means the moon rises noticeably farther north on the horizon, from one night to the next. So, every autumn, there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. Around the time of full moon, many people see the moon low in the sky, around the time of twilight. At that time, the moon often looks reddish. Image via classicalastronomy.com.
Other times in astronomy you hear "moon" and "blood" in same sentence. The full moon nearly always appears coppery red during a total lunar eclipse. That's because the dispersed light from all the Earth's sunrises and sunsets falls on the face of the moon at mid-eclipse. Thus the term blood moon can be and probably is applied to any and all total lunar eclipses. It's only in years where volcanic activity is pronounced that the moon's face during a total lunar eclipse might appear more brownish or gray in color. Usually, the moon looks red. We astronomy writers often say it looks blood red. Why? Because it sounds dramatic, and a lunar eclipse is a dramatic natural event. Read more here: Why does the moon look red during a total lunar eclipse?
What's more, in folklore, all the full moons have names. The names typically coincide with months of the year, or seasons. One of the most famous moon names is the Hunter's Moon. It is the the full moon immediately following the Harvest Moon, which is the full moon occurring most closely to the autumnal equinox.
The Hunter's Moon, in skylore, is also sometimes called the Blood Moon. Why? Probably because it's a characteristic of these autumn full moons that they appear nearly full – and rise soon after sunset – for several evenings in a row. Many people see them when they are low in the sky, shortly after they've risen, at which time there's more atmosphere between you and the moon than when the moon is overhead. When you see the moon low in the sky, the extra air between you and the moon makes the moon look reddish. Voila. Blood moon.
The second total lunar eclipse of the coming lunar tetrad will take place on October 8, the same night as the Hunter's Moon. So there will be two reasons to use the term Blood Moon that night.
Dates for the Northern Hemisphere's Harvest and Hunter's Moons in 2014 and 2015:
2014:
Harvest Moon: September 9
Autumn Equinox: September 23
Hunter's (Blood) Moon: October 8
2015:
Autumn Equinox: September 23
Harvest Moon: September 28
Hunter's (Blood) Moon: October 27
Bottom line: The term Blood Moon in Biblical prophecy appears to have been popularized by two Christian pastors, Mark Blitz and John Hagee. They use the term Blood Moon to apply to the full moons of the upcoming tetrad – four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons) – beginning on the night of April 14-15, 2014.
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Hi Sky,
I can imagine our ancestors spent a lot of time under brilliant, star and planet filled night skies.
No lights, no tv, no PRC...what else did they have to do??? lol
That's something I can indulge in and quite often do, since I live in the country with no nearby city.
I feel so connected to that night sky.
Do you think celestial events like these have any effect on our planet or us? Like Astrology?
(http://www.damninteresting.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/flammarion_woodcut.JPG)
I think that is a possibility. We are connected to the farthest star in the universe, superluminally via the quantum vacuum...
as demonstrated by quantum entanglement...at least 10,000 times the speed of light. That's the nature of the ETHER.
Cosmo
Hi Cosmo
yep anything we can see, feel, touch, talk of or even think about has an effect on us
some of it we recognize some we don't..and some we give importance to..
which, believe it or not is a choice..imo
i am also out in the boonies with a clear night sky.. well - when we aren't clouded over (cough cough) which is more and more the last two years..
and if these preacher folk want to get others all riled up..just another end of the world bunch of BS
again in my opinion
but if it gets folks to think about their lives and what they want then it's more of a good thing than bad..as long as they don't stampede my house..lol
hopefully it will be a good sky show
here's a bunch more if anyone wants to read it...
http://wnep.com/2014/04/08/a-blood-moon-is-coming-when-you-can-see-the-lunar-eclipse/
A 'Blood Moon' is Coming, When You Can See the Lunar Eclipse
Posted on: 2:31 pm, April 8, 2014, by Tom Clark, updated on: 05:53pm, April 8, 2014
Set your alarm for anytime between 2:00am and 4:30am on Tuesday, April 15 so that you won't miss an opportunity to watch a total lunar eclipse. This occurs when the moon passes through the very center or darkest portion of the earth's shadow called the umbra. This happens when the sun, the earth and the moon are in a straight line with the earth in the middle. Most of the time at full moon the moon passes either above or below the earth's shadow but not this time
So next Tuesday morning the moon will be passing through the earth's shadow at 2,300mph and will remain in the dark shadow for about just over one hour. This will be between 3:06am and 4:24am in the western sky. During this time the only light able to reach the moon is sunlight that is being bent or refracted by the earth's atmosphere into the earth's shadow. This is the kind of reddish sunlight we see just before sunrise and just after sunset.
Due to the atmosphere bending and scattering sunlight the color appears more reddish and this is why during a total lunar eclipse the moon can appear rusty or deep red and hence the term 'blood moon'. Here's a sequence of images taken during a lunar eclipse to show this effect:
(http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/13/55/53/83/lunar_10.jpg)
The color next Tuesday morning may not be as vivid or dramatic as this but it's always interesting to see just how red the moon will appear. In my experience with watching a lunar eclipse I've seen the moon simply turn dark gray or brownish in color. However should there by a lot of dust in the atmosphere like from a volcano the red can be very pronounced.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate. However I see a chance that it may not. But even with a broken layer of clouds the effect can be every bit as dramatic as if the sky were clear. You don't need a telescope to watch a lunar eclipse but watching through binoculars will greatly enhance the view. If you miss it... the next best time as good as this one will be in on September 27, 2015. That lunar eclipse one will start at around 9:00pm. No alarm clock required.
...............................................
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bal-wx-full-lunar-eclipse-could-bring-blood-moon-next-week-20140409,0,6810687.story
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/469228/Four-blood-moons-Does-alignment-of-Mars-Earth-and-Sun-mean-the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh
http://www.webpronews.com/blood-moon-tetrad-begins-april-15-2014-2014-04
Vey nice subject, (like usual)
Thx for the info all, I will not miss it, oh no!
Clear sky please clear sky ;)
Quote from: COSMO on April 09, 2014, 05:46:41 PM
The King James Bible predicts: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes," [Joel 2:31].
And, according to NASA, a highly unusual 'Tetrad' - four successive total 'blood-red' lunar eclipses each followed by six full moons - will, indeed, start next Tuesday and finish on September 28 2015.
The incredible alignment has only happened a handful of times in the last two thousand years but, remarkably, on each of the last three occasions it has coincided with a globally significant religious event.
Will be keeping an eye on this for sure!
Cosmo, thanks for the thread!
And yes, beware of preachers of any doom! ;)
Quote from: sky otter on April 09, 2014, 06:42:04 PM
Hi Cosmo
yep anything we can see, feel, touch, talk of or even think about has an effect on us
some of it we recognize some we don't..and some we give importance to..
which, believe it or not is a choice..imo
i am also out in the boonies with a clear night sky.. well - when we aren't clouded over (cough cough) which is more and more the last two years..
hopefully it will be a good sky show
Hi Sky,
I know we talked about star gazing awhile back. Did you ever get that camp lounge/recliner we talked about? Just about the best thing ever made for kicking back and getting lost in the star studded ocean. Cup holders too for those long trips! :D
There are a few brands, but they look like this.
(http://www.anaconda.com.au/GetImage.aspx?t=Zoom&n=E10019.jpg)
SkyCosmo lol
hahahahah
ah yes.. i have you to thank for that road trip to cabelas and two extra wide star gazing chairs..
hubby says.. tell that guy..'good job'..
with a light sleeping bag you can stay out for hours...trouble is are sky at night isn't like it used to be.. the ahem, unclouded night sky just isn't a nightly thing anymore..
hugs
sure hope i can get some good pics of this eclipse...
explanary vid.. if yoiu are interested..
http://www.space.com/25250-a-tetrad-of-lunar-eclipses-starts-in-april-video.html