The Patriots play the Falcons on Thursday Night Football, and anyone who follows football knows there is a simple, catchall phrase for this matchup: 28-3. It's all over social media any time a team mounts a comeback. The pictures of Julian Edelman's catch hit every March 28. It is truly a rallying cry for Patriots fans and torturous reminder for Falcons fans.
Frankly, we weren't going to bring it up ahead of the game in Atlanta, but sometimes, the universe has other plans. Like, literally.
According to NASA, overnight between Nov. 18 and 19, there will be a partial lunar eclipse. Now, you might rightfully be saying to yourself, "That sounds lovely for stargazers, but why is Patriots.com writing about a lunar eclipse?"
Well, the answer is quite kismet. This partial lunar eclipse is set to last for three hours and 28 minutes. Yes, the day the Patriots and Falcons face off. You cannot make this stuff up.
To make it even more interesting, this will be the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years, so the duration isn't just coincidental. It's significant. For folks on the East Coast, the eclipse will begin around 2 a.m., with its peak hitting around 4 a.m., so if you're hopped on coffee for Thursday Night Football, you might just be awake to see it.
It was surreal enough when a Patriots souvenir ended up at the International Space Station last year, but now even the moon is making 28-3 jokes. It's truly out of this world. Hat tip to Weather Channel Meteorologist Dalton Mullinax for drawing attention to this uncanny lunar moment.
