Superstitions to be overshadowed by red eclipse tonight

LUNAR eclipses have signalled the collapse of the Roman armies, the Ottoman Empire and the reign of Mary Harney.

So, tonight may prove very interesting indeed.

By the time midnight arrives, the Earth’s shadow will have completely blacked out the moon and light from our atmosphere will give it a dull red halo.

The Red Moon phenomenon is the most complete lunar eclipse possible.

David Moore of Astronomy Ireland said that throughout history people have been afraid of the consequences of these eclipses.

“Back when the Roman Empire moved to Constantinople there was a saying the city would never fall while there was a moon in the sky. Then a total eclipse came. They lost the next battle and the city fell.

“Even up to World War One, Lawrence of Arabia was able to attack the Ottomans while there was an eclipse because they had superstitions about it and were not ready to fight, which gave TE Lawrence his reputation,” he said.

The last eclipse to appear over Ireland was on the day Mary Harney stepped down as leader of the Progressive Democrats.

On that occasion less than half the moon was blacked out, but this time around the full moon will fade to the point of being invisible.

Mr Moore said superstitions aside, tonight should be a great chance to see the natural phenomenon.

The Earth’s shadow will be passing over the moon in three phases from 9.30pm to 12.50am. The second and darkest phase will start at 10.45pm and last for less than half an hour.

Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible to the naked eye.

Astronomy Ireland has special telescopes set up around the country.

* Visit www.astronomy.ie, or call 1550 111 442 at a cost of 95c a minute.