The Super Moon also known as the Blood-moon will occur on this Sunday on September 27/28, depending on the country. This will indeed be a spectacular event, as the Supermoon will combine with a lunar eclipse, which doesn’t happen that often.
The last time such an event happened was 30 years ago, back in 1982. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the full moon and the sun. The Earth’s shadow covers the moon, which often has a red tinge, hence the ‘blood’ moon nickname. Even though it’s completely within in the shadow of Earth, a bit of reddish sunlight still reaches the moon, giving it a flavor of red.
“That red light shining onto the moon is sunlight that has skimmed and bent through Earth’s atmosphere: that is, from all the sunrises and sunsets that ring the world at any given moment,” commented Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope magazine.
The eclipse is expected to start at 10:11 p.m EDT (7:11 p.m PDT) on Sunday evening and should last for one hour and 12 minutes. The eclipse will be visible all across North and South America, Africa, Eurpoe and some parts of West Asia and the eastern Pacific, according to NASA.
According to officials, people in the eastern half of North America can witness all the stages of the eclipse, with the moon mostly high in the sky, if the weather permits, that is.
In the West however, the first partial stage of the eclipse will already be in progress when the moon becomes visible.
A Supermoon basically means that the moon will look a tad bit bigger than usual because it will be a tad bit closer to Earth.
“Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit,” commented NASA scientist Noah Petro in an official statement.
“There’s no physical difference in the moon. It just appears slightly bigger in the sky. It’s not dramatic, but it does look larger,” added Pedro.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with a Supermoon has occurred only five times in the 100 years; 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982, according to NASA.
Benzamin H
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