Residents view and learn about ‘blood moon’

The lawns of the Harry Bayley Observatory were packed with families huddled on blankets and chairs to witness Sunday night’s total lunar eclipse.

For the first time in the history of the observatory, viewers were allowed to watch, on the big screen, live footage from telescopes to see the blood moon.

Provided with a play-by-play scientific breakdown from local astronomers, viewers learned about a lunar eclipse and its effects.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow.

Many raised questions, from “why does the moon turn blood red?” to “how does a lunar eclipse affect the tide?”

The eclipse began just around 10 p.m., with the edge of the moon beginning to tinge to a dull red, and continued into the wee hours of Monday.

“We are beyond grateful because this is our first major event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are taking the opportunity to reopen the gates of the observatory free of cost,” vice-president of the Barbados Astronomical Incorporated Society Ricardo Small told Barbados TODAY.

“We are extremely heartened that people have turned out in these numbers because it represents a trend in Barbados now towards things scientific and technological.”

Small added that he wants to see primary and secondary school children show an interest in astronomy.

“The sciences – Mathematics, Physics, and Geology, the whole range of sciences – are incorporated into astronomy itself because astronomy is a total science that incorporates all of these other sciences. When Barbadians show an interest in astronomy as they are showing tonight, we are extremely heartened that the work of the observatory has not been in vain,” he said. (MR)