Red Moon Rising Moments Shared Online With Thousands

Red moon rising occurred on June 15, 2011, and was a relatively uncommon event. A central lunar eclipse — that’s where part of the moon passes through the center of the Earth’s shadow. Central lunar eclipses are the darkest eclipses and they are relatively rare.

The last time a lunar eclipse was closer to the center of the earth’s shadow was on July 16, 2000. The next central total lunar eclipse will be on — July 27, 2018.

The red moon rising was visible in South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In western Asia, Australia and the Philippines, the lunar eclipse was visible just before sunrise.

What was as equally as rare, was the internet viewership shared by thousands. The blogosphere was lighted up itself by hits of adorers around the globe. This was a rare eclipse itself.

The Sky Watchers Association of North Bengal (SWAN) India sent an invitation to share the joy of the observation from Siliguri, West Bengal, India on June 15, 2011. The day turned out to be a complete success.

But there were challenges right from the start. The internet connection was a little fractured at times in the beginning. The clouds also presented to be a hindrance on multiple instances. But these obstacles were no match for the SWAN team, with the aid of mother nature, obviously.

At the peak of viewership, there were as many as 11,000 plus viewers savoring the occasion. Many of the the eyewitnesses got a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse in its entirety for the first time. The SWAN members were very courteous and displayed much professionalism. Thank you very much for hosting the adventure.  We enjoyed the discussion, the music, and the wonderful camaraderie. What a splendid function!

These type of brief time periods where huge crowds can participate can only be possible with the  power of the internet. It’s history in the making when this type of opportunity arises.

The Lunar Eclipse, June 15, 2011 was even hosted by Google on YouTube. But many of channel users afterwards were clearly upset that there wasn’t a replay of the event. Oops!

A big thank you to all for clicking on this website, posting the comments,  and sharing this occasion together with us. Please join the conversation on Twitter — @ki4kqd, and you will gain a follower as well.

If you have a rare photo of nature and you would like to have it posted,  please send it to us via Twitter or Twitpic, or give a suggestion in a comment. Again, thanks to all around the world for the participation — de Roger.

Photograph credit from _big_mouth _ .  Some rights reserved.