We reported before that a lunar eclipse is due to take place in late September which some nutjobs observers are saying is an omen for the end of the world.
The lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon event, which is when the moon's orbit passes closest to the Earth. This naturally-occurring, completely rational phenomenon, however, has a lot of people worried. The Blood Moon, as they're calling it, is the final Tetrad - four consecutive lunar eclipses that fall on a Jewish holiday each time.
The omens range from God attempting to warn the Earth of its impending doom to it being the start of seismic event. Either way, they're saying it's bad.
Pretty much everyone else, however, is saying that it's the astronomy event of the year. The event is expected to start around 1AM our time and continue through the night. The moon will appear in a reddish hue as the moon passes through the eclipse.
Of course, it all depends on how the cloud cover shakes out - although Met Eireann's latest weather report suggests we should have clear skies for tonight. The supermoon eclipse is expected to run for about 72 minutes in total, but you won't see another again for quite some time.
Since 1910, there's only been five supermoon eclipses with the most recent being in 1982. If you miss tonight's one, you'll be waiting quite some time - the next one doesn't happen until 2033.
So, y'know, if the world does end up being destroyed tonight, at least we'll have something pretty to look at. Or maybe, just maybe, it's a beautiful astronomical event that has absolutely no connection to anything going on down here.
Via NASA / YouTube
