The Super Blue Blood Moon
We set our alarm for 4:00 AM this Wednesday morning on the West Coast to observe a special pre-dawn lunar event. Actually 3 events are happening at once.
First of all, it’s a Supermoon.
According to earthsky.org, a supermoon is a new or full moon closely coinciding with perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit.
moon.nasa.gov
This proximity to Earth makes the moon appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual. (nasa.gov)
Second, it’s a Blue Moon.
The adjective, blue, refers not to color but to rarity, as in “once in a blue moon.” According to livescience.com, a blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year, as in…
- the 3rd of 4 full moons in a season
- the 2nd full moon of a calendar month
space.com
The first blue moon occurred January 1st.
Below is a picture of a blue moon taken on August 31, 2012 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
en.m.wikipedia.org
Third, it’s a Blood Moon.
A blood moon refers to the reddish tinge a full moon takes on when fully eclipsed. A total lunar eclipse takes place when the Earth comes between the sun and moon. As the Earth covers the moon with its shadow, the moon turns a reddish-orange color. (timeanddate.com)
Below is a picture from Santa Monica, CA taken by Lucy Nicholson from Reuters, the multimedia news agency.
newsweek.com
According to 10news.com in San Diego, the last time a Super Blue Blood Moon was visible in the Western Hemisphere was 1866, over 150 years ago.
10news.com
And here are my pictures taken from my iPad while Jeff and I sipped our coffee and huddled to stay warm. A really awesome sight to behold even if the photos don’t do it justice. I am just happy we were able to witness this lunar trifecta.
