Partial Lunar Eclipse
Medieval astronomers witnessed the May 1453 lunar eclipse, during which approximately two-thirds of the Moon was covered by the Earth's umbral shadow. The residual illumination the Moon during an eclipse, can often be red. This may explain why it is said a "red moon" took place during the eclipse, and was taken as an omen or prophecy of the city's transfer of power.
Read more about this topic: Fall Of Constantinople
Famous quotes containing the words partial, lunar and/or eclipse:
“The one-eyed man will be King in the country of the blind only if he arrives there in full possession of his partial faculties—that is, providing he is perfectly aware of the precise nature of sight and does not confuse it with second sight ... nor with madness.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“A bird half wakened in the lunar noon
Sang halfway through its little inborn tune.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Dawn and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)