In Search of the Moon: Toronto Looks Up
The plan was to go to our family’s boat at the Scarborough Bluffs. More specifically, the strip of land in front it - the green hill with the shady tree and the park bench, 20 metres from the boardwalk that overlooks Lake Ontario. With only the marina glow behind us and the red ember of the lighthouse in the distance, we would have an unobstructed view of the Sun setting in the west, and in the east, we would watch the Moon rise, become eclipsed by the Earth, and then turn a haunting shade of red.
But then the clouds came.
After a gorgeous sunny day, Toronto lost sight of the sky, and outside of brief, faint appearances, the spectacle of the first “Super Blood Moon Eclipse” since 1982 slipped away into the night.Ultimately, I never saw the Moon. But what I saw instead was encouraging - a city genuinely interested in looking up. My Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat were constantly loading with new posts of people declaring their excitement for the event, their anxiety over the clouds, and finally their disappointment over missing it. But I got the impression that this was a shared feeling across all of Toronto.
With the trek to the boat feeling like too much of a gamble, I went to a park two blocks away from home with the hopes that the Moon would appear. Instead, I found the benches filled with teenagers just as eager as me to see the red Moon. In the distance parents looked up between walking dogs and watching their children playing on the jungle gym. The kids would ask how much longer, while the parents, chatting with their neighbours, would say “just a few more minutes”. On the border of the park, a couple rested on a hill patiently looking into the clouds hoping for a break. I asked if they’d seen the Moon, only to find out that I had just missed it. The couple told me they’d been there an hour, and that they would wait until 11pm, when the “show” would finish- they really wanted to get a photo. The teens were debating what exactly it was that they were waiting for, “No bro, it’s red because the Sun is reflected off the Earth”, while his friend decided just to Google it.
As I walked home I noticed porch chairs filled with people looking at their watches, peering above, then returning to their phones and books, disappointed but still content with waiting for the Moon.***
For one night, Toronto collectively looked up. Everyone seemed to know of the event and wanted to take part in it, snap a photo, text a friend. Toronto was enchanted by science. And it wasn’t just us. Across Eastern North America, people were anxious to see the lunar eclipse and the resulting “Blood Moon”. Over 168,000 tweets were sent with #superbloodmoon. Twitter even attached a small Blood Moon emoji at the end of each hashtag.
As a city we may not realize it but we are fascinated by Science. Whether the High Park cherry blossoms that enchant the city every Spring, or whenever significant weather rolls through the city like the ice storm of 2013, Toronto stops, tweets, writes and snaps their way though the event. And science literacy organizations need to take advantage of this. When Canadian geese or monarch butterflies complete their great migration and return home, a great opportunity is presented. Because when Toronto is aware of these special events, we show up, iPhones in hand, ready to snap and experience.
***
As the evening wrapped up, with no Moon yet seen, I was disappointed. But seeing the teens in the park debating what exactly they were waiting for, the couple patient on the hill, and the number of households looking up at the sky, I was encouraged. Because it wasn’t just me who was excited. For a few hours I was with the entire city, in search of the Moon.
More information
- Supermoon eclipse dazzling for Canadian skygazers, weather permitting, CBC
- When can I see the supermoon eclipse tomorrow night?, Skunk Bear
- Watch a stunning timelapse of the rare supermoon lunar eclipse, Mashable
- Super Blood Moon Eclipse Wows Viewers: Here’s Proof, NPR
Image credits
- “Super Moon” by William Kee, September 28, 2015 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Interested in science? Consider these great organizations!
By @kironcmukherjee. Last update: September 29th, 2015.
This is so great, and really reflects my experience as well (including the clouds and no moon part). I went out to my local park to look up a couple of times throughout the evening, and saw lots of people out and doing the same, people who I never see when I walk the dog around that time on non-supermoon nights. I love the shared experience of science, and hope that we can find many more opportunities, terrestrial and astronomical, to come together and share our love and wonder for the natural world.
