12:25 PM | *Lunar eclipse next week coincides with a blue moon and a supermoon*
Paul Dorian
Credit: Prisma Bildagentur/UIG via Getty Images
Overview
There will be a “partial” lunar eclipse next week in the eastern US (“total” eclipse in the rest of the country) and it coincide with a blue moon and supermoon in an event that hasn’t happened in over 150 years. These three lunar events are not uncommon, but it is rare for them to occur at the same time. The eclipse will take place early in the morning on Wednesday, January 31 and it will be somewhat of a challenge for viewers in the eastern US as the moon will be about to set in the western sky and the sky will be getting lighter in the east.
Stages of the Jan. 31, 2018 “super blue blood moon” (weather permitting) are depicted in Pacific Time with “moonset” times for major cities across the U.S., which affect how much of the event viewers will see. While viewers along the East Coast will see only the initial stages of the eclipse before moonset, those in the West and Hawaii will see most or all of the lunar eclipse phases before dawn.
Credits: NASA
Details
The partial eclipse in the eastern time zone will begin around 5:51 AM (ET) on Wednesday, January 31, when the moon enters the outer part of the earth’s shadow. Around 6:48 AM (ET), the darker part of the earth’s shadow will begin to blanket the moon and create a blood-red tint (i.e., blood moon) and then the moon will set less than 30 minutes later. Some sunlight reaches the moon during a lunar eclipse, but first it goes through the earth’s atmosphere which filters out most of the sun’s blue light; consequently, the moon appears red.
This lunar event will feature the second full moon of the month (a.k.a., blue moon) and will occur during perigee – the moon’s closest approach to the earth in a single orbit. As a result, the moon will appear to be about 7 percent larger than normal and 14 percent brighter than usual (a.k.a., supermoon). The last time there was a blue moon, a supermoon and a lunar eclipse at the same time for North America was on March 31, 1866 (source: accuweather.com).
People across North America that miss this month’s eclipse will have to wait only one year for the opportunity to view another. The next time that a total lunar eclipse will be visible from the United States and Canada will be on the night on Jan. 20, 2019, with the entire eclipse being visible across all of North America.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Vencore, Inc.
vencoreweather.com