Incredibly Rare 'Super Blue Blood Moon' Is About to Appear For The First Time in 150 Years

[Reefa]

 

If you were awestruck by the New Year's Day super moon, hold onto your pants.

 

On January 31, around midnight, the full moon will not only be super, it will be a blue moon and a blood moon.

 

The blue moon comes as it will be the second full moon in a month. That happens every two and a half years, hence the saying "once in a blue moon".

 

But wait, wait - these two celestial events, the blue moon and the super moon, will also coincide with a total lunar eclipse.

 

And with Earth in between the Sun and the Moon, sunlight has to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, which scatters the green to violet light more than it scatters the red light. So the Moon appears red - a blood moon.

 

That's three big Moon moments on one glorious night for skywatchers, and NASA is calling it the 'Super Blue Blood Moon'.

 

The best place to see it, according to Space.com, will be in central and eastern Asia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia.

 

The last time all three events lined up this perfectly was more than 150 years ago. According to the Canon of Lunar Eclipses, the last time humans saw a total eclipse of a blue moon was 31 March 1866.

 

The US will miss out on the full spectacle as the eclipse will happen too close to the Moon setting.

 

You can see where the eclipse will be visible in the graphic below.

 

The Northern hemisphere times can be found here. For Australia, the point of greatest eclipse occurs at around 23:30 AEDT. The totality will last around 1 hour and 16 minutes.

 

 

source

[Stanners]

nice stuff mate I remember Halley's Comet when it was here (showing my age) definitely work looking!

[anakin206]

Too bad I will no see no eclipse at all

[flitox]

13 hours ago, anakin206 said:

Too bad I will no see no eclipse at all

same here, can i get a refund?

[pc71520]

15 hours ago, flitox said:

same here, can i get a refund?

On 21/1/2018 at 7:18 AM, anakin206 said:

Too bad I will no see no eclipse at all

Count me in for it.

[humble3d]

For the first time in 152 years...

a supermoon, blue moon, and total lunar eclipse will coincide...

 

"the awesome complexity of the universe"...

On the night of Wednesday, Jan. 31, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing—you

owe it to yourself to gaze at the sky.

When you do, you will be treated to both a visible supermoon—what we call a

full moon at its closest orbital point to Earth—and a total lunar eclipse.

 The celestial coincidence hasn’t happened in more than 150 years. That

means there were people who lived and died on this Earth without ever having

had a chance to see this phenomenon, which won’t reappear again for another

decade.

This supermoon also happens to be the final one in a supermoon trilogy—the

first two of which appeared on Dec. 3 and Jan. 1.

As the second full moon of the month, it earns the title of a blue moon as

well.

And get ready for the blood moon

The moon on the night of Jan. 31 is, by a combination of low probabilities,

exceedingly rare.

Visible supermoons appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than full moons that

occur at the farthest point in the moon’s orbit.

During the eclipse, with totality visible from eastern Asia across the

Pacific to western North America, the moon will slowly lose its brightness

and take on a reddish hue because of the way the atmosphere bends the light,

says NASA.

As a result, totally eclipsed moons are sometimes also called “blood moons.”
From supermoon to blood moon.

When can I see the supermoon and total lunar eclipse?

The best time to enjoy a supermoon is right after moonrise and before

sunrise, when the moon is sitting on the horizon.

It will appear its biggest and brightest because of a “moon illusion” effect

that’s created when you are able to compare the lunar body to other objects

for scale, like buildings and foliage.

Check your local moonrise time here:

https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/

 

For the real highlight of the show, the lunar eclipse will begin at 6:48am

ET (11:48am UTC) and reach its maximum at 8:30am ET (1:30pm UTC).

Viewers from eastern Asia, the Pacific, and western North America will get

the best view, but viewers in eastern North America and Europe will also

catch a partial eclipse.

Here’s an interactive map of where you will be able to see the eclipse:

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2018-january-31

Can I see the supermoon and lunar eclipse without going outside?

 

If it’s too cloudy, or too cold, or you aren’t in the path of totality,

there are options to view the celestial event online.

The Virtual Telescope project provides a livestream of the supermoon’s

eclipse over Rome’s skyline, beginning at 6:30am ET (11:30am UTC).

 

 

 

What’s the best way to photograph the lunar eclipse?

To take a picture of the supermoon or the lunar eclipse with a smartphone,

tap on the moon on the screen and hold your finger in place to lock the

camera’s focus.

Then adjust the exposure slider that appears next to your finger to get the

right balance of light for your shot.

If you’re using a DSLR, NASA’s senior photographer Bill Ingalls recommends

that you use the daylight white balance to adjust for the sunlight being

reflected off the moon.

He says that it’s important to keep in mind that the moon is a moving

object: “It’s a balancing act between trying to get the right exposure and

realizing that the shutter speed typically needs to be a lot faster.”

To get an original shot, Ingalls suggests taking a picture that puts the

moon in context of a local landmark, something that gives your photo a sense

of place.

“Don’t make the mistake of photographing the moon by itself with no

reference to anything,” say Ingalls. “Everyone will get that shot.”

supermoon2

Do I need special glasses to watch the supermoon and lunar eclipse?

Unlike the solar eclipse, the supermoon and the lunar eclipse are safe to

view with the naked eye.

There’s nothing to worry about if you find yourself enthralled and staring

up into the sky for a very long time.

Except maybe your neck. 

 

https://qz.com/1189777/a-supermoon-and-total-lunar-eclipse-will-coincide-
for-the-first-time-in-152-years/

 

[Reefa]

Threads merged.

[rasbridge]

Anyone have photos to share of the Blue Moon?