Vanalai
Thonsith of Ubon Ratchathani shows her 2-year-old nephew Nong Palm the
lunar eclipse from the top of Pratamnak Hill.
Manoon Makpol
Pattaya denizens got a sparkling view of the last
total lunar eclipse until 2014, gazing skyward across the region as the
full moon turned blood red.
Starting at 7.46 p.m., the 51-minute spectacle began
when the moon entered the Earth’s penumbra and began passing the umbra
at 9.06 p.m. The total eclipse reached its zenith at 9.19 p.m. before
the moon passed through Earth’s umbra at 9.56 p.m.
Thanks to a cloudless sky, Pattaya residents and
tourists got some of the best views of the sky show.
Vanalai Thonsith of Ubon Ratchathani was one of
dozens of people who scaled Pratamnak Hill to catch the best view of the
eclipse. “This is the first time I ever traveled to a viewing point to
watch an eclipse. I was very excited to come,” Vanalai said.
Far more common than solar eclipses, the lunar
versions occur about a half-dozen times a year. In Ubon, Vanalai said,
the events are usually accompanied by fireworks, drum-playing and
singing. “People believe we can wish for whatever we desire and that all
that we’ve waited for will come true,” she said of the lunar event.
She also mentioned local beliefs, that using loud
noises, such as fireworks, hitting pans, and honking horns, would induce
the god of darkness (Rahu) to stop swallowing the moon.
Lunar eclipses also differ from their solar cousins
in that the moon is not blacked out during an eclipse. Some light still
passes through Earth’s atmosphere, casting a deep red shadow onto the
moon which, otherwise, would disappear in the night sky.
The satellite’s transformation into something out of
a Hollywood werewolf movie. The effect doesn’t last long, however, but
the right-to-left passing of the shadow was visible into the 11 o’clock
hour.
While Thailand got some of the best views of the Constitution Day
eclipse, the event was visible for a total of three hours and 32 minutes
in parts of Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe. The next one - a partial
covering of the moon - occurs June 4 and will be visible in Thailand,
East Asia and Australia. The next total lunar eclipse occurs Oct. 8,
2014, which also is Auk Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent.
