Trina Van Ausdal

11/12/14
Caitlin Bennion
Astronomy
Conversation Paper
I was pulling out of my drive way, very early in the morning, on my way to work.
Glancing up at the moon, I noticed it was an orange and redish color. I thought to myself its a
Lunar Eclipse! It was nice to remember what it is called, but I couldnt remember how it
happened. A lunar eclipse has three types, a total lunar eclipse, partial lunar eclipse, and
penumbral lunar eclipse. Each can only happen when the moon, sun, and earth align. When the
moon passes through the penumbra, which is the shadow of the sun, it creates a penumbral lunar
eclipse. When the moon is half in the penumbra and half in the umbra it creates a partial lunar
eclipse. The term Blood Moon comes from when the moon passes directly through the umbra
and turns the moon a red color making it appear bloody.
Total lunar eclipse is the rarest out of their three types. With the rotation of the earth and
moon, along with the 5 degree access of the moon, it takes a long time for all three to line up.
Along with the alignment, the moon has to be full in order for a lunar eclipse to happen. The
nodes are also necessary for an eclipse. This plays a big part of the 5 degree access, the moon
cant be below or above the sun. The nodes are when the moon crosses that surface during the
orbit.
The topic of a lunar eclipse is very interesting and has many factors that make it a great
topic of conversation. It plays a role in many religions in the predicting of the return of a savior

named Jesus. This was very surprising to me because an eclipse can be scientifically explained
and has been happening for millions of years. However, a lunar eclipse is rare so its easy to
confuse what the difference between a solar and lunar eclipse is. This is why I decided to write
about it and have my conversation paper on lunar eclipse, and most specifically the total lunar
eclipse.
If you want to get someones attention, I think all you have to say is Blood Moon. While
that isnt the scientific name, it warrants some good conversation. I decided to have this
discussion at my parents house because it was the most central location for all of us. We made
dinner, (by we I mean my mom made dinner for us) and sat down at the kitchen table to talk. It
was a Monday night on the night of November 10th, so I think it was nice to get together at the
beginning of the week. I expected it to be difficult to make this conversation last an hour, but as
my family loves to have their opinions heard, it lasted a little over an hour.

We learned about the total lunar eclipse very early on in the semester, during chapter two.
I had a little reminder of what a lunar eclipse was when the Blood Moon happened in October. I
had to go back and reread chapter two to make sure I fully understood the process of both the
Lunar and Solar eclipses. I think they are very easy to mix up and confuse. After I read the
chapter, I researched the total lunar eclipse on the internet to see what other researchers were
saying about it. After I felt like I could hold a conversation about the lunar eclipses, I wrote
down notes in hope of helping the discussion flow a little better in case we got stuck or didnt
know what else to talk about.

We started the conversation in a very simple way. We just discussed what a lunar eclipse
is, how it happens, and how often. We didnt follow my plan exactly because I wanted to let the

conversation flow as much as possible. We got off topic a few times because it sparked other
interesting topics about astronomy such as other planets, the mission to mars, and it even went to
global warming. My uncle found some pretty interesting things about the Blood Moon on the
religious side. Its believed by some that it is a sign of the times and the return of a God may
be soon. My family is very opinionated and loves any opportunity to discuss anything political
or religious. I dont think that was a bad thing because it kept the conversation interesting. I did
bring the discussion back to lunar eclipse; we discussed the different phases of the solar eclipse,
as well.
Astronomy is interesting to, I think, just about everyone, but that doesnt necessarily
mean that they are educated on any parts of it. I wanted to have this conversation with a group of
people who would know more about astronomy than me even after taking this class. I chose my
step dad, mother, and uncle to talk about the recent Blood Moon/Lunar Eclipses that happened
during the beginning of October. They are all educated with a Bachelors Degree and do their
best to stay up-to-date on current events. I knew they would interested enough on the topic to
know that it happened, but they would have to do some extra research to know the details of a
lunar eclipse.

This was the first time I ever had a planned, educational conversation with my family
members. They brought interesting articles to help contribute to the conversation so I ended up
learning more about the topic than I had expected. If I could do anything differently, I would be a
little more organized. I did my best but it is hard to lead a conversation when its with family
members. We all got our time to teach and learn so it was more than just a conversation, but a

great learning experience. We have decided as a family to do this more often to try and keep
more educated on specific topics.