Sunday night, Sept. 27, 2015, the moon hid in the shadow of the Earth, peaking to a blood moon at 9:47 p.m.

Here is what is really going on behind the scenes: as the moon and the Earth shift through space, the moon, Earth and sun align. The moon becomes visible in the Earth’s atmosphere as it rolls through Earth’s umbra, or inner layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. When it starts to enter the umbra, the moon is dipped into the Earth’s shadow, where it slowly turns red. As the moon continually shifts into the center of the Earth’s shadow, the sliver of light reflecting off of it from the sun slowly fades and the moon is fully immersed into the Earth’s shadow, whereas a solar eclipse is where the Earth is in the moon’s shadow which blocks sunlight.

My dad and brothers and I set up camp chairs inside our apartment walls and brought our binoculars. For us, the sky was mostly clear with a few wisps of clouds and the weather was cool.

We found our spot at about 8:48 p.m. and found that the moon had already slid halfway into the Earth’s shadow, so it was half gloomy dark, and half washed in the sun’s bright light, somewhat like the Yin and Yang symbol. As the bright strip decreased to the right we watched in awe as the moon slowly turned a deep rustic-red with our binoculars.

Recent wildfires and volcanic activity have released particles into the atmosphere that will further enhance the red effect. The light from the moon hits the Earth’s atmosphere and bounces off the particles to reflect red hues of light that eventually meet our eyes.  

Interestingly, the sliver of light that faded from the side of the moon did not entirely leave, but instead slowly rounded the bottom of the moon and across to the other side. At exactly 9:47 p.m. Central Time, the moon peaked, and the light on the bottom of the moon edged its way around to the other side, giving the moon a fiery ring that circled the its outer edge. It was beautiful and bright, and a deep, almost crimson, red. Through our binoculars, we got to see the moon’s craters as well, distinct even in shadow. It was amazing, and looking at the sky around it, the sky was a lot darker than if it had been a full moon.

Because of the recent change of the seasons, the moon was also supposed to be the largest it has been in a long time. The last time they saw such a lunar eclipse was in 1982, and in 2033 we should see it again.

I have been obsessed with space ever since I can remember, and I think one reason I love watching celestial miracles like this is because when my own problems seem overwhelming and my goals beyond reach, I can look to the sky and know there are much larger things than me, than all of us. While outer-space is more than we can fathom, we have already begun to explore its immensity. Sometimes when our goals seem impossible,  we simply need to ready our rocket and launch into something unknown to discover that perhaps they are unattainable, perhaps nothing is impossible after all.