The November Lunar Eclipse: The Second Lunar Eclipse of the Year This is also the only lunar eclipse in 2022 that the people of Vietnam can observe.
According to astronomy experts, there are many rumors surrounding lunar eclipses that sometimes cause confusion among people. However, most of these are merely fabrications by those with vivid imaginations. Nonetheless, there are certain impacts on human life during a lunar eclipse.
Lunar Eclipse phenomenon. (Photo: Minh Đức/TTXVN)
Mr. Đặng Vũ Tuấn Sơn, President of the Vietnam Young Astronomers Association, stated that a total lunar eclipse can be explained specifically through physical phenomena. In fact, nowadays, predicting the exact date and time of this event is quite easy for science.
“Thus, attributing mystical stories and pessimistic predictions to this phenomenon is unscientific and more dangerously, it can lead to many unhealthy belief activities that negatively impact society,” Mr. Sơn commented.
However, Mr. Sơn also noted that, in reality, this phenomenon does have some influence on human life and activities.
The Earth is subject to the gravitational pull of both the Sun and the Moon. Under normal circumstances, the gravitational forces from these two celestial bodies do not act in the same direction but are offset by a certain angle.
During full moon days, the gravitational pull from these two celestial bodies on Earth is nearly aligned, resulting in the highest total force in each cycle. However, during a lunar eclipse, the three celestial bodies align, causing these two forces to nearly coincide. Thus, their total value is maximized.
At that time, it can cause stronger and higher tidal waves. In fact, ancient Japanese believed that lunar eclipses signaled earthquakes and tsunamis. This is not entirely superstitious.
According to Mr. Sơn, many studies by scientific groups worldwide have shown that in areas with unstable geological activity, the increase in gravitational force is an additional factor influencing the likelihood of geological oscillations—causes of earthquakes, tsunamis, or volcanic eruptions.
Regarding the human biological cycle, scientific studies also indicate that during the full moon, especially when a lunar eclipse occurs, there is a close relationship with the decrease in melatonin, a hormone associated with regulating sleep and wake cycles. Therefore, during these days, people often find it harder to sleep and experience increased nervous inhibition.
However, this influence is not significant, so it is not too serious for human health.
“Many statistics also indicate that the full moon cycle in general and lunar eclipses in particular affect the increase in birth rates among women. However, so far, there is no specific scientific evidence for this,” Mr. Sơn said.
Nevertheless, all these physical influences are relatively small, and thus they have a negligible impact on daily human life. Of course, in reality, a lunar eclipse remains a fascinating natural phenomenon that people can observe.
The President of the Vietnam Young Astronomers Association emphasized that this is also an opportunity for scientists to observe the surface of the Moon in greater detail (due to reduced light intensity not causing glare as in regular full moons), thereby conducting deeper research into the origins and activities of the Solar System where we live. A lunar eclipse is an interesting natural phenomenon that sometimes people can observe. The color changes of the Moon during this event often leave many people curious.
