Well, you can catch him blushing brightly on March 14. A total lunar eclipse will cast the Moon in a crimson glow, earning the nickname “Blood Moon” as the Earth moves between it and the Sun.
As a child, I remember my mother waking me in the middle of the night, her voice gentle as I groggily climbed from my bed. Pulling my jacket over my fleece pajamas, the weight settling on my shoulders, and following her out into the night. While others slumbered, we left our warm house and crept into the darkness.
A short walk down the road brought us to the open field near our home—a vast stretch of grass bordered by shadowy trees. Wrapped in a blanket, huddled shoulder to shoulder, her arm around me, she pointed upward. A shadow began to creep across the face of the moon; I looked on in awe as it turned a deep, otherworldly red. I felt impossibly small yet deeply connected to the vastness of the cosmos.
That night, I understood why the stars have inspired myths for centuries. Ancient civilizations believed that a beast was devouring the Moon during a lunar eclipse, so the people would drum and shout to scare it away and restore the moon’s light. Even knowing the science, it’s a magical sight to behold.
I still vividly recall the thrill of being awake while the world slumbered, the way the night air was sharp and electric – how it made me feel so alive. So, on the second Friday in March, step outside. Find an open field. And look up. Unlike a solar eclipse, this
spectacle requires no special glasses—just a clear view of the sky. If you miss it, don’t worry; another celestial wonder awaits in April, when Neptune, Mercury, Saturn, and Venus align in the eastern sky before dawn on the 15th.
Though I won’t be with my mother this time, I take comfort in the words of E.E. Cummings:
“Even when we are miles away, always remember that we are under the same sky, looking up at the same sun, moon, and stars.”
The night sky has always ignited our imaginations, inspiring stories, art, and scientific discoveries that have shaped human thought. As you stargaze, ask yourself what you’d wish upon a shooting star, then dare to make that dream come true!
