Lunar Eclipse Lunacy in Washington State

At approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday, Washington had a clear view of the lunar eclipse. The large orange moon in Washington rose in the Western sky and came to what scientists call an eclipse because the earth comes between the sun and the moon causing it to block out the moon's light . What makes this eclipse so notable is that it will be the last total eclipse until December 2010. There was a clear sky to watch and it was rumored that even the rings of Saturn were visible nearby. The last lunar eclipse occurred in October 2007.

Here in Washington State, we even had a pre-show meteor dashing across the sky on Tuesday night the 19th with several people calling the local media such as KIMA in Yakima to send reporters out to Adams County to investigate which is where the local airport and Horizon pilots were saying the debris looked like it landed. Although there was a large flash of light and later a second flash and explosion which rocked some car windows, to date, no one has found any meteorite or sign of it entering the earth's atmosphere.

The eclipse of the moon tonight may also hold significance for Christians and others who follow Biblical prophecy closely. This is because of NASA's announcement that they intend to shoot a satellite from the skies near Hawaii later this evening as well. According to Matthew 24:29, Jesus tells his followers that when the end times are near the "sun will be darkened, the moon will no longer give its light and the stars will fall from the sky." Previous to this passage, he suggests that we pray it not be in Winter and that it not be on the Sabbath (Sat/Sun). It is further mentioned that the days will be shortened for the sake of the "elect". Daylight savings time is just around the corner when we set our clocks to "spring forward."

Taking all of this into consideration, if NASA does in fact shoot off their missle in order to bring down the satellite this evening they may be a part of Biblical prophecy, if and only if their actions take place around the time of the lunar eclipse and after sunset. NASA tells us they have 10 days to do, but only have 3 missles to shoot with, and further, that there are absolutely no guarantees as to whether they can hit the satellite, what the reaction of the satellite will be, and where the satellite parts and its toxic fuel will disburse or land, but it is believed the debris will disburse into the outer atmosphere.

The moon moves rapidly through the sky. At 6 p.m. Pacific Time, the large orange moon was hovering over the western horizon. By 7 p.m. it was high in the Southwest horizon and looked more like cloud cover than a star or planet blocking the moonshine. There was no halo due to the cold damp night air, but you could see the craters of the moon with the naked eye. It has been a long time since NASA sent more astronauts to walk on the moon and like most people of my generation who remember the first visit there, somehow moon-watching has never really been the same since.