News

The Super Blue Blood Moon Made People Feel Way Existential

by Alexandra Svokos
David McNew/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Early on Wednesday, Jan. 31, a few large swaths of the globe were able to glimpse a once-in-a-lifetime lunar even — if they woke up early enough to catch it. For the first time in 150 years, a super blue blood moon hit the skies. And for those who saw the moon, it was basically a life-altering event, as these tweets about the super blue blood moon prove.

Just to give a liiiiittle bit of context here, this lunar event was pretty freaking cool. As the name suggests, a super blue blood moon is a confluence of three cool moon things. A supermoon is when the moon is super close to the Earth, so it looks big in the sky. A blue moon is when a full moon happens twice in one month (i.e. "once in a blue moon," get it?). And, finally, a blood moon is a lunar eclipse, which is when the moon moves through the Earth's shadow (think a solar eclipse, but flipped). A lunar eclipse gives the moon a reddish color, which is why it's commonly referred to as a blood moon. Put those all together and what do you get? A super blue blood moon. Simple!

Across the United States, the super blue blood moon hit between 3:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. local times, depending on where you were. Those who got out of a comfy bed to see it where not disappointed... for the most part.

The super blue blood moon made people feel like they were part of a beautiful gigantic universe.

Some people waxed poetic at the sight of the super blue blood moon on Wednesday.

While others were flexing their photography skills (we get it, you've got a long lens).

Meanwhile, some other people were not quite as impressed with their own ability to photograph the super blue blood moon.

But that doesn't mean they didn't try. A for effort.

For some super, blue, and bloody astrological followers, the expectations just did not meet the reality on Wednesday.

And then there were those photos that just made you want to say, "no way is that real shut uuuupppppp!!!"

The super blue blood moon made many people reflect on what really matters in life. Like K-pop.

BTS forever.

If you missed out on the super blue blood moon early Wednesday morning, well, I'm sorry, but you kind of just blew it. While a supermoon, blue moon, and blood moon are all relatively common by themselves, the convergence of all three at the same time is very rare. Still, that doesn't mean you should just give up on star-gazing and eclipse chasing forever. Like I said, each of the separate lunar events happen relatively frequently, so if you feel like you missed out, just keep an eye out for the next one of these (although, be warned, a blue moon is just another full moon, so it's not the most exciting thing you'll see in the sky).

There are also people who spend their lives following after cool events in the sky, and I'm not just talking about astrophysicists. You can become an eclipse chaser, joining the dedicated folks who travel the world to see the next solar eclipse. It's a great way to fuel your wanderlust, too.

But that takes time and energy and money! And the reality is that no matter where you are and no matter what astrological event is or isn't happening, the sky is pretty incredible. Instead of grouching about missing the super blue blood moon on Wednesday morning, take a moment tonight to just look up at the sky and be thankful that global warming hasn't wrought total destruction on us... yet. But in all seriousness, the world is full of wonders, super blue blood moon or not, and it's just up to you to learn to appreciate it. Happy chasing.