The moon will loom large and red later this month as a lunar eclipse coincides with a super moon, when the satellite’s orbit brings it closest to Earth.
The moon will loom large and red later this month as a lunar eclipse coincides with a super moon, when the satellite’s orbit brings it closest to Earth.
If that wasn’t rare enough, the Jan. 31 eclipse also happens during the second full moon of the month, known as a blue moon.
“This one is kind of fun because the moon will be doing three things at once,” said Pierre Martin, associate astronomy professor at University of Hawaii at Hilo.
“It will be a super blue blood moon,” he added.
The moon glows red during an eclipse, when it falls behind Earth’s shadow, because of how light is bent through the planet’s atmosphere.
But how red depends on how much dust and other particles are in the atmosphere.
“It’s always a big question,” Martin said.
He said the last lunar eclipse to occur during a blue moon was in 1866.
Hawaii’s last lunar eclipse was in 2015.
Martin said the eclipse will last several hours but won’t start until after midnight. It will become total at 3 a.m., meaning it will be a late night or early morning for those who don’t want to miss out.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
