On Sunday night, people in North America will witness a rare celestial spectacle—an event that has not occurred for over three decades.
Skywatchers are eagerly awaiting a lunar eclipse with the moon near to its closest point to the Earth—a phenomenon that occurs only five times per century. The event will not happen again until 2033.
Because of the moon's proximity to Earth, a blood-red "supermoon" will be seen on Earth, an event that has caused fear across the world, with some interpreting the changing of the moon's colour as a sign of the apocalypse. The moon will turn into a deep, rusty red because of sunlight being scattered by the Earth's atmosphere.
During this rare celestial event, the moon will be near "perigee" or 226,000 miles away—its shortest distance from Earth. Due to this, the moon will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than when it is at its furthermost point.
What makes this Sunday's celestial event even rarer is the fact that the moon will be approaching its closest distance to Earth while the Earth's shadow is covering the moon, resulting in a lunar eclipse. The last time such a spectacle was witnessed was in 1982.
The "blood moon" event was interpreted by some as a sign of doom, partly due to this verse from the Book of Revelations: "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red."
Some Mormons in Utah have even begun stocking up on food supplies and emergency kits, fearful that the blood moon will trigger the end of the world.
Mormon leaders, however, issued a statement earlier this week, telling its 15 million faithful not to worry about the blood moon event.
The leaders told their followers that they should "avoid being caught up in extreme efforts to anticipate events."
