Right after midnight, on January 31st, a sequence of lunar events can be observed. More specifically, a full moon, a total lunar eclipse, a blue moon that will look reddish, and a supermoon. Each of these events is common but they have occurred at the same time only for a few time in the world history.
The full moon
A full moon happens when the Sun is directly illuminating the whole visible side of the Moon. This phenomenon happens once every 29.5 days when the lunar cycle is ending and the Moon is opposing the Sun.
The lunar eclipse
The orbit of the Moon is with 5 degrees more inclined in comparison with the Earth. So, the Moon will be below or above the path Earth is following when revolving around the Sun.
In each lunar cycle, the Moon’s crossing the Earth’s orbit for two times. When this occurs when there is a full moon, the result will be a total lunar eclipse. A total lunar eclipse is only visible from the night side of the Earth, therefore this year’s total lunar eclipse will only be visible from Australia, North Pacific, North America, and Asia.
The Blue Moon that will be red
A Blue Moon is the name of the phenomenon of having two full moons in one month. On January 1st, there has been the first full moon, while the next one will be on January 31st, which will be called Blue Moon.
Actually, this Blue Moon will be red.
The Moon looks like getting darker during a total eclipse, as our natural satellite is moving into the Earth’s shadow. However, when the Moon is completely shadowed by the Earth, it looks reddish because the Earth’s atmosphere’s gas molecules will reflect the Sunlight’s blue wavelength, while the red wavelength will pass through them.
The Supermoon
The Moon-Earth distance is not fixed.
A Supermoon occurs when our natural satellite is at the closest point to Earth, called perigee, while being on a full moon.
In conclusion, on January 31st, we can witness a unique sequence of events: a full moon, a total lunar eclipse, a Blue Moon, and a Supermoon.
