Super Blood Wolf Moon: The Only Total Lunar Eclipse Of The Year Meets Supermoon Tonight

The Sun, Earth and the Moon would align tonight (20 January, Sunday), for the only total lunar eclipse this year and next, reports The Hindu.

The moon would appear slightly bigger and brighter than usual super-moon as it will be closer to earth.“It not only is a super-moon and a total eclipse, but it would also last pretty long, about an hour.” Patrick Hartigan, Rice University astrophysicist, was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The whole eclipse starts on 20 January night or early on Monday (21 January), depending on location, and will take about three hours.

It begins with the partial phase around 10.34 pm EST on 20 January, when Earth’s shadow will start to nip at the moon. Totality, when Earth’s shadow completely blankets the moon, will last for about an hour.

The complete eclipse decree be visible in North and South America, Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, Norway, Portugal and the French and Spanish coasts if the skies are clear. However, people in Asia, Australia and New Zealand won’t be able to witness the event, even though they can catch the live-streaming.

During the eclipse, the moon looks red because of the sunlight scattering off Earth’s atmosphere, which is why an eclipsed moon is also known as a blood moon. On the other hand, it will also be a full-moon supermoon. Since January full moon is also known as wolf moon or great spirit moon, the event can be called a Super Blood Wolf Moon.