A cosmic event not seen in 36 years — a rare “super blood blue moon” — might be glimpsed on Wednesday in parts of Asia, western North America, the Middle East, Russia and Australia.
The event is causing a buzz because it combines three unusual lunar events — an extra big super moon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse.
“It’s an astronomical trifecta,” said Kelly Beatty, a senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine.
A blue moon refers to the second full moon in a month.
Typically, a blue moon happens every two years and eight months.
This full moon is also the third in a series of “supermoons,” which happen when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit.
This point, called the perigee, makes the moon appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.
During the eclipse, the moon will glide into Earth’s shadow, gradually turning the white disk of light orange or red.
“That red light you see is sunlight that has skimmed and bent through Earth’s atmosphere and continued on through space to the moon,” said Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope magazine. “In other words, it’s from all the sunrises and sunsets that ring the world at the moment.”
The alignment of the sun, moon and Earth will last one hour and 16 minutes, visible in the evening as the moon rises in Asia, the Middle East, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand, and at dawn across the western US and Canada.
Unlike a solar eclipse, this lunar eclipse can be safely viewed without protective eyewear.
“We’ve had a lot of supermoons and we’ve had lunar eclipses, but it’s rare that it also happens to be a blue moon,” said Jason Aufdenberg, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s campus in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“All three of these cycles lining up is what makes this unusual,” he added. “It’s just a wonder to behold.”
According Sky and Telescope, “the last time a complete lunar cover-up took place on the second full moon of the month was December 30, 1982, at least as reckoned by local time in Europe, Africa, and western Asia — locations where the event could be seen.”
TAIWAN
People living in Taiwan can expect to see a little extra, the Taipei Astronomical Museum announced on Jan. 19.
It will be the first time a blood moon, a supermoon, a blue moon and a black moon will be seen together, one museum staffer said.
A “black moon” occurs when an entire calendar month passes with a full moon.
The museum said the full sequence would begin at 6:50pm on Wednesday and end at 12:10am on Thursday, and should be visible nationwide.
Additional reporting by staff writer and CNA
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