Three Separate Lunar Events to Converge and Create a Must-See Lunar Eclipse on January 31st

Steven Agar |
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The super blood moon of 2015. Credit: liquidcrash/Flickr

A rare alignment of three separate lunar events (a total lunar eclipse, a supermoon, and a blue and blood moon) will come together on January 31st.

“During the total lunar eclipse, the moon will pass into the shadow of the Earth, blocked from direct sunlight by our planet, bathing Luna in a red glow that has led to the informal name of lunar eclipse totality: a blood moon.” says Popular Mechanics.

The total lunar eclipse will also coincide with a supermoon, which is a full moon at its lunar perigee (or the point in the moon’s orbit that brings it closest to Earth). Supermoons are typically much bigger and brighter than normal full moons because of their closeness to Earth and it is also the second full moon of the month, which is called a blue moon.

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Stages of the Jan. 31, 2018 super blue blood moon. Credit: NASA

The perigee blue moon total lunar eclipse will be visible in the western United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, large parts of Russia and China and parts of the Middle East.


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