While most of Cal Poly was sound asleep early Tuesday morning, a group of dedicated students, dressed in blankets and sweat sets, assembled on Baker Lawn to observe a total lunar eclipse, commonly referred to as a “blood moon.”
Across North America, the blood moon peaked around 3 a.m. It was the last total lunar eclipse anywhere on Earth until New Year’s Eve 2028-2029.
Despite the eclipse’s early timing, observers were excited and wide-awake as they gazed at the red moon through telescopes provided by Cal Poly’s Astronomical Society. Many members of the group were students enrolled in the general education course Introduction to Stars and Galaxies (ASTR 102) who could receive class credit by submitting a signed sheet to their professor, Vardha Bennert.
One group of sophomores enrolled in Introduction to Stars and Galaxies attended to earn two points of extra credit and to have fun. Although the class doesn’t cover the moon specifically, students had the opportunity to see concepts such as orbital patterns and solar angles in action.
“Thanks to this class, I have the opportunity to see a red moon,” said Kate Wells, a recreation, parks, and& tourism administration sophomore enrolled in Introduction to Stars and Galaxies.
Sky O’Donnell, a senior in physics senior and an astronomy minor, created the event in partnership with Bennert to provide Introduction to Stars and Galaxies students with telescopes on Baker Lawn and group trips to the observatory. As the lead observatory assistant, O’Donnell leads and organizes public events, including special celestial events, such as the lunar eclipse.
“This is a very special [eclipse] where it happens for an entire hour,” O’Donnell said. “The longest that you can get is about seven hours, but that almost never happens. We will be able to see it for about one hour. It shifts into red for an entire hour, stays red, and then shifts out of red for another hour.”
While public viewings are typically reserved for eclipse viewings, the observatory’s on-campus telescopes are useful for research in Observational Astronomy (ASTR 444), where students learn to use observational instruments.
