#bucketlistOdyssey #2 Witness a Super Blood Moon over Africa

#bucketlistOdyssey #2 Witness a Super Blood Moon over Africa

Super “Blood” Moon on 27^th 28^th September 2015

Two old friends
a producer & a paramedic
defying menopause
on a Bucket list Odyssey

over the next few months two old friends Vanessa Yelseth and Kim Williams will bring you affordable bucket list adventures in South Africa. We hope you will enjoy our journey!

We see it up in the sky every evening. We marvel at its beauty and its mystery, picturing a howling lone grey wolf across the continents. Images of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and urban legends abound in fantasy and fact. How many millions of people are looking up at the moon right now at this very moment?. All caught up in a magical moment thousands of Km’s away, Nations - humans and animal kingdoms - all united in these few seconds, across seas and mountains all sharing one beautiful moon.

01h59

02h00

03h05

So what is so special about the moon tonight?. We had heard about this extra special event and called our local Planetarium facility at Witwatersrand University. The lady that had answered the phone had no cooking clue what we were on about. Infact the whole office did not seem know what we were on about. She transferred us to a guy but he was not in his office so we left a message for the human voice on the machine and we waited. We also found their really great face book page and left a message. So here we sit not sure if this is going to happen or not. A day later one of the ladies called me back while I was on duty at a huge structural fire downtown Johannesburg. In Between trying to run the scene, calling for additional resources, all the while the poor women was holding on listening to what was going on. (I am sure she thought she had found the mother load in pure insanity!). Once again she could not confirm the Super Blood Moon!

03h08

The next best thing was to google it and initially we started to think that it may be a hoax to be honest. We both love the outdoors and our beautiful skies so we were up for the challenge at clearing this myth or fact. Then it was Vanessa to the rescue. She had managed to contact someone who know somebody and we now had a venue and possible confirmation that this was indeed fact! She had managed to get her film crews to go and set up camp on the hill in Observatory Johannesburg where we would be able to view this extraordinary event. It was now confirmed something was indeed about to occur and several of the local media houses had started to create awareness and a bit of a buzz. Thank goodness as I was tired of trying to sheepishly explain to people what Vanessa and I were up to in the middle of the night on the streets of Jozi on a #bucketlistOdyssey adventure and not two batty 50 year old menopausal women hunting for weird moon phenomenons!

Either way it is now a little after midnight and I was super excited. I took a few photos from my driveway of a fantastic looking moon and then left home much to the sighs of my family who now knew their wife and mom was completely batty and headed off to fetch Vanessa.

Her son Daniel, her sister and niece had also been dragged along. And this is how two crazy broads have come to sit high above the Johannesburg skyline in the freezing cold on top of one of the highest points in between rocks, friends, camera crews, hot chocolate, sitting on camping chairs wrapped in fluffy blankets with cold runny noses. We of course also had snacks and a little OBS sherry.

We were offered some hope when News24 posted the upcoming event - so we were now sure that something special was really going to happen. We will now sit back and enjoy either way.

Many religious beliefs and folklore are connected to these incredible events, some in celebration others promising doom and gloom and even an apocalypse. So we sit up here on a rather spooky night near a building that most certainly was haunted with its eerie feeling on top of Observatory hill in Johannesburg, South Africa and wait for either one of the most spectacular lunar moments in our recent memories, a moment we will either remember tomorrow or in a flash we will be vapourized. So here goes…

We can experience 4-7 Super Moons in a one year period. But a Super Blood Moon (a total eclipse of the moon) is rare. Tonight this total eclipse of the moon tonight will begin at 02h11 with the full eclipse at 04h47 and the event finishing up at 07h22 so it will take 5 hrs 11 mins – for fun we will time it! It happens to be the closest Super Moon of 2015.

It’s known as the Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon or Full Moon nearest the September Equinox. It’s the Southern Hemisphere’s first Full Moon of Spring. This September this Full Moon is also called a Blood Moon, why? - because it presents the fourth and final eclipse of a Lunar Tetrad: four straight total eclipses of the moon spaced at six lunar months (full moons) apart.

The total lunar eclipse will be visible from the most of North America and all of South America after sunset September 27. In eastern South America and Greenland, the greatest eclipse will happen around midnight September 27-28. Then in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the total eclipse takes place in the wee hours of the morning, after midnight and before sunrise September 28. A partial lunar eclipse can be seen after sunset September 27 from western Alaska or before sunrise and on September 28 in far-western Asia.

We were told to expect a specular red ring of sunrises and sunsets which will line the Earth, casting a rosy glow on the lunar landscape. And with the sun hidden and the sky completely dark, bright stars will fill the sky. Back down on Earth, stargazers can look forward to seeing the moon bathed in tints of red. During a total lunar eclipse, the moon often turns a reddish color when its hit by sunlight bent by the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a phenomenon called a "blood moon."

A super moon lunar eclipse is a rare event that has only happened five times since 1900, most recently in 1982. After this month, it won't happen again until 2033.

“The super moon lunar eclipse will be visible throughout North and South America the night of September 27”, NASA said, “while those in Europe and Africa can see it in the early morning hours of September 28”. Which is why we sit here freezing on Observatory Hill and up at sparrow fart to witness this incredible moment. Vanessa had also invited a few friends to witness the event. This had better be happening after all this, I even had extra batteries and cleared my memory card!

Daniel, Vanessa and I

Unlike a solar eclipse, which is dangerous to look at with the naked eye, experts say it's perfectly safe to watch a lunar eclipse. Which is a great relief, as we two 50 year old’s don’t have great eyesight anymore and have far too many adventures and miles to travel together!

As we said there are actually 4-7 Super Moons on average in a year. The Super Moon is extra-large and bright with striking red tinge. When a moon is close to the earth it is known as a lunar perigee, which can lead to high tides and greater variations between the tides.

This take place when the moon passes through the earth’s shadow and this one will be a “blood super moon” - when the moon appears red or copper as light is refracted across the surface.

Some have said that a Blood Moon is the sign of an impending apocalypse bringing strange tidal activity, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Well it was now 07h00 and we were back home still alive after witnessing one of the most spectacular lunar events I have even had the privilege to see. The only thing we experienced was a sudden gust of wind that then died down. No earthquakes, zombies or weird stuff, just an incredible experience that made you appreciate the beauty we take for granted every day. Our beautiful planet that we need to preserve for future generations to come.

Image from google

Dates in SA

Total Luna Eclipse visible in Cape Town on 28^th September

Super full moon occurs on Monday 28^th September 04.50

Total Lunar Eclipse – Blood Moon

The moon will be totally eclipsed for more than 5 hours

Below I have added some images from Google that explains what we witnessed.

Image Google

Perigee and Apogee

The moon’s orbit around the Earths is not a perfect circle but elliptical, with one side closer to the earth than the other

The point on the moons orbit closed to the earth is called the perigee and the point farthest away is the apogee.

This means that the distance between the moon and earth various throughout the month and the year. On average the distance is about 238 900 kilometers

Image Google

Moon phases worldwide

When a full moon or new moon coincides with being closest to earth it is called a Super Moon, super full moon, or super new moon

Super moon is not an official astronomical terms.

Because it’s so close to Earth a super full moon looks bigger and brighter!

Image Google

The best time to enjoy super full moon is after moon rise when the moon is just above the horizon, weather permitting, that is!. We have checked the weather and it looks promising. At this position a super moon will look bigger and brighter than when it’s higher up in the sky because you can compare the apparent size of the super moon with elements in the landscape, hills, foliage and buildings. This effect is popularly called the “moon illusion”.

Adventure with a purpose!™

The Team Zodwa Project ™
Member: FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa)

Photo Credits: Kim Williams Copyright
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Warmest