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WANT TO SEE a ‘bite’ being taken out of the moon?
If you look up at the sky tonight, you’ll get to witness a lunar eclipse, where it will appear as though a chunk is being bitten out of the moon.
The eclipse will occur as the moon passes through earth’s shadow, in what is known as a penumbral eclipse. Skywatchers all over the country will be able to see a small “bite” taken out of the edge of the Moon as it rises around 9pm tonight.
Plus, the moon may also appear dimmer than usual.
“Lunar eclipses like the one tonight happen when there’s a full moon and when the moon is inside earth’s shadow,” explained David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine.
We want everyone to go outside tonight from 9pm to 10pm to watch the eclipse, and then let us know what they see!
He explained that the ancient Egyptians saw the eclipse “as a sow swallowing the Moon for a short time”, while the animal became a jaguar in Mayan tradition, or a three legged toad in China.
Some societies thought it was a demon swallowing the Moon, and that they could chase it away by throwing stones and curses at it.
Astronomy Ireland has set up a webpage detailing what will happen during the course of this evening’s eclipse, which can be visited at www.astronomy.ie.
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Luis suarez up to his old tricks again?
His teeth are big enough for the job anyway,,,,,
Pity this isn’t happening on Sunday night when the voice is on. Sitting out in the garden for 2 hours staring at the sky would be a billion times more entertaining!
Assuming its not raining & no cloud cover!
:(
and you can be bothered to get off the sofa.
There always seems to be a sky watching related story when there is no chance of seeing it. #astronomy #conspiracy
#thisisn’ttwitter
Agreed. What is it with people using hash tags on this site.Bewildering.
#confused.com ?
*don’t moan, it’s just for fun*
Eclipse tax anyone ? :)
hahhaa!! would not surprise me!
I think throwing sticks and curses at it is the best way to go..
Tin-foil hats all round!!!
Its the Aliens!!!!!!
Nah, they’re on mars drawing penises with their new toy.
Perfect full moon here with no bite out of it!!! :)
Ditto – looks lovely and bright in Dublin – still no bite! Its now 10pm – is it too late?
I saw it all at about 9.05pm! Not terribly exciting but pretty all the same!
Beautiful night here. Perfect for viewing. Thanks Aoife :)
If you look at it right now, close one eye, stare at it for a bit you’ll notice your nostril
Nothing happened!!
Cheese
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