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Rituals and Stories
The lunar eclipse wasn't well understood historically, and because of this, many cultures developed stories to help them make sense of the occurrence. Vikings believed that warring wolves caused the eclipse and that, in order to get rid of them, they must make loud noises to scare off the wolves. The Chinese believed that a dragon was swallowing the moon during an eclipse and beating a mirror would cause the dragon to retreat. The Ge' of Brazil believed that the moon and sun were fighting, and that the red color of the moon seen during an eclipse was the blood from the battle.
History
The lunar eclipse has changed the course of history on several occasions. Christopher Columbus, on the way to the New World, was stranded in Jamaica in 1503 A.D. Knowing that he was wearing out his welcome with the natives and that a lunar eclipse was near, Columbus warned the natives that moon would vanish if they did not continue to feed him and his sailors. In 413 B.C., the Athenians delayed their retreat from Syracuse in the Peloponnesian War because they took the occurrence of an eclipse as a bad omen. The Syracusans took advantage of this delay, and some historians believe that this was the catalyst that led to the fall of Greek civilization.
How It Works
The moon does not create any light of its own. It reflects the light from the sun. When the earth comes between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow and preventing the moon from getting any sunlight, a lunar eclipse occurs. An eclipse can only happen during a full moon. Eclipses don't occur every month because the moon and earth aren't on identical orbits; the two must line up for an eclipse to happen. A visible lunar eclipse can take place up to three times a year or not at all during a given year.
Observing a Lunar Eclipse
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is perfectly safe for the naked eye to view. When you look at the eclipse, the moon will appear to be red. This is because there is still a small amount of light reaching the moon from the sun, but the light passes through the earth's atmosphere before reaching the moon. When it does this, the atmosphere filters the blue-colored light, leaving only the warmer colors to reach the moon. The exact color of the moon can vary from brownish red to yellow, depending on how much dust and how many clouds are in the earth's atmosphere at the time.