The big news in the world of astronomy this week is the Total Eclipse of the Harvest Moon. This is happening on the 27th and because it’s also the closest Full Moon of the year, we could call it the Super Total Harvest Eclipse Moon.
During a Total Lunar Eclipse, the Full Moon passes through the deepest part of the Earth’s shadow~and this will be visible throughout Michigan and the Midwest. But this eclipse isn’t the only thing happening in the celestial world this week…
The set up for the eclipse starts today, Monday, when the planet Venus came to its greatest possible magnitude~that means the planet is as bright as it can get. Then, on Wednesday, the Sun will come to its Fall Equinox moment, when day and night are of equal length. Thee two events are followed by the eclipse, on Sunday.
So what story can we find in this? The brightest planet achieving greatest brightness; the world experiencing equal parts day and night; and the Moon getting closest and moving in deepest shadow.
It’s a set up for celestial extremes, marked on either end by greatest brightness and deepest darkness. Fortunately for us, these two extremes are marked in the middle by Sun coming to Equinox, which is the point of greatest balance that only happens twice every year.
For me this calls to mind the classical Greek myth of the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis. These monsters were located on opposite sides of the Straits of Messina, between Sicily and the Italian mainland. Scylla was a rocky shoal and Charybdis was a whirlpool, and in the myth, Odysseus had to make passage between them. This was a nearly impossible feat of navigation that gave rise to the moral idiom of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If you find yourself stuck between brightest Venus and darkest Moon, then think of the Sun Hero Odysseus and trust that a balanced approach in all things will see you through the week.
Venus is at magnitude -4.8 Monday, September 21st
Equinox occurs at 4:21 am Wednesday, September 23rd
Super Total Harvest Moon Eclipse occurs Sunday, September 27th