Triple Treat! Watch Total Lunar Eclipse, Blue Moon & Super Moon- at Same Time in City
On Wednesday, 31 January 2018 most of the world will get to see not only a blue moon and a supermoon, but also a total lunar eclipse, all rolled into one. Here are 10 things you should know about this rare phenomena: In Mangaluru you can view the Lunar Eclipse visible on Wednesday 31-01-2018 from sunset up to about 7:38 pm, the Amateur Astronomers’ Association of Mangaluru have made arrangements at the terrace of “Spoorthi Complex” (opposite Cordel Hall), Kulshekar, Mangaluru. As a part of this activity, a discussion and Sky Watch will be organized from sunset till 8:00 pm as stated by Prof. H.Jayantha, of the Association
Mangaluru On Wednesday, 31 January 2018 most of the world will get to see not only a blue moon and a supermoon, but also a total lunar eclipse, all rolled into one. In Mangaluru you can view the Lunar Eclipse visible on Wednesday 31-01-2018 from sunset up to about 7:38 pm, the Amateur Astronomers’ Association of Mangaluru have made arrangements at the terrace of “Spoorthi Complex” (opposite Cordel Hall), Kulshekar, Mangaluru. As a part of this activity, a discussion and Sky Watch will be organized from sunset till 8:00 pm as stated by Prof. H.Jayantha, of the Association.
According to sources, here are 10 things you should know about this rare phenomena:
1.There hasn’t been a triple line-up like this since 1982 and the next won’t occur until 2037.
2.A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. A super moon is a phenomenon, when moon appears slightly bigger (about 10 per cent or more) and a little brighter than normal.
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
3.A total lunar eclipse is when the earth comes exactly between the sun and the moon and the earth’s shadow falls on the moon.
4.During a total lunar eclipse, some of the sun’s rays get refracted through the earth’s atmosphere and strike the moon, which thereby takes on a low brown red glow. Therefore, it alternatively also referred to as blood moon.
5.The moon will be closest to Earth on Tuesday, just over 223,000 miles (359,000 kilometers).
BLUE MOON
6.The total lunar eclipse will be visible everywhere in India from 5:20 pm.
7.The main eclipse (all three phenomena together) would start around 6.25 pm after sunset and this can be seen in the eastern sky as the moon would have just risen by then. It would be over in an hour’s time by 7:25 pm.
8.”A slight sliver of the moon first gets covered in what is called the umbra, the total shadow, and slowly spreads for several minutes before receding,” a release from BM Birla Science Centre explained the occurrence.
SUPER MOON
9.There may be slightly higher tides in rivers and seas due to super moon but nothing very alarming about it, the release said.
10.Researchers point that Indian superstitious beliefs like not eating anything during a total lunar eclipse, have no scientific basis whatsoever.
In Asia, the last Blue Moon and total lunar eclipse happened on December 30, 1982. Lunar eclipse : A lunar eclipse is a spectacular celestial show, during which the bright, pearly-white disc of the full Moon turns dark, and sometimes takes on the colour of dark copper, or even dried blood. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are so aligned that for a period of time, the full Moon passes through the shadow of Earth in space (called Earth’s Umbra).
Why is it called a Blue Moon? This full Moon occurs twice in a calendar month, the last one being on January 2. The next one, on January 31, is termed a “Blue Moon”. The Moon does not turn blue but historically the second full Moon of an English calendar month is termed as a Blue Moon. Hence the oft-quoted phrase of a rare occurrence of any event as “once in a Blue Moon”.
Super Moon :The coming lunar eclipse will be more spectacular because during the eclipse, the Moon will be near its perigee (the Moon reaches its perigee on January 30 at around 15:28 hrs. IST) and hence it will look larger than an average full Moon, and is termed a Super Moon.
At what time can we see the eclipse in India? In India, the eclipse will start around 17:18 IST. It will be total at 18:21 hours and remain totally eclipsed till 19:37. Then after, the total eclipse will end and the Moon will slowly come out of the shadow of the Earth, the partial eclipse ending around 20:41 hrs. The totality of the eclipse will last for about 1 hour and 16 minutes. So this rare event is happening after 150 years? Do I need any special binoculars or a telescope to see this phenomenon? Not at all. It can be seen through the naked eye.
When is the next total lunar eclipse? The next total lunar eclipse will be visible in India on July 27, 2018 but it will not be a Blue Moon or a Super Moon.