| 2018 Jan 20: Super Blood Moon is Coming (2018-12-22) ⬅︎ |
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We will be experiencing an extraordinary double event in the evening of January 20th: a supermoon, and a lunar
eclipse all in one. Maybe it should be called a super blood moon?
Let's start with the supermoon. The moon orbits the earth in a path that is elliptical,
not circular. When it is at the
closest point in its orbit, or perigee, it can be as close as 221,500. And when it is at the furthest point, or apogee, it
can be as far as 252,700 miles. Any time the moon is no further than 224,641 miles at a full
moon, it is
called a supermoon and will appear somewhat larger. This will happen during the full moon this month.
Finally, the blood moon. About every six months the moon is lined up with the earth and sun in its
path
around the earth. This is known as an eclipse season and both solar and lunar eclipses can occur.
Often the
eclipses are just partial or can't be seen from our location, but this eclipse season, we will
be able to
view a total lunar eclipse. The moon will appear to turn deep red as it travels through earth's shadow.
The eclipse will start at 6:39pm on the evening of Jan 20th as the moon enter's the earth's
penumbra. Totality begins at 8:41pm and lasts until 9:43pm. Then the moon will slowly emerge from earth’s
shadow bringing the eclipse to an end.
An event not to miss! |
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