Super Blue Blood Moon incoming: Watch it when and where
Next week our solar system will deliver unto us a Super Blue Blood Moon. As such, we've got to get you prepared to view it. "For the (continental) U.S., the viewing will be best in the West," said program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Gordon Johnston. The event will begin at 5:30 Eastern Time on January 31st, and if that's a deterrent for you, turn back now! Turn away from this the glorious happening!
The big deal here is the trifecta of events that almost never happen all at once. This isn't just a super moon, and it's not just a blood moon. It's a blue moon, too. The last time these three happenings crossed over us at the same time was 150 years ago.
A blue moon is a second full moon in one month. That's about it for that. A blue moon is relatively rare, happening about once every two years... but there's nothing about it that makes it really appear blue. NOTE: The image above comes from NASA.
A super moon, or supermoon, happens when the moon is within a certain range of our Earth. A supermoon can be up to 30-percent brighter and up to 14-percent larger compared to the average moon size and brightness we see most of the time. It's not so much of a mind-blowing event as the blood moon, but it's a little more visually significant than the blue moon.
A blood moon occurs when the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon. When the Earth is in the way of the Sun's rays, they pass through our atmosphere, scattering the spectrum green-to-violet in a bigger way than what's left: the red. The light that reaches the moon appears red once reflected back to us on Earth.
To see this happening, step outside at around 5:30 Eastern Time on the 31st of January, 2018. The best place to see this action will be in central and eastern Asia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia. Unfortunately we'll only see a bit of it. Have a peek at the video below if you've not already set up a lawn chair for the event. [VIDEO LINK INCOMING: Original stream failed - stay tuned!]